Goodbye Brings Hello

Goodbye Brings Hello. Dianne White. Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman. 2018. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

 First sentence: There are many ways of letting go. With each goodbye, a new hello.

Premise/plot: This book captures the goodbye and hello nature of childhood, of this difficult yet glorious thing called GROWING UP. 

Each two page spread shows a goodbye and a hello. (Or in some cases a hello and a goodbye.)

Loop the laces. Knot the bows.
So long,
Velcro-covered toes.

Chunky crayons. Big designs.
Hello, letters on the lines.

My thoughts: I found the book DELIGHTFUL. I did. I loved it cover to cover. I loved the writing; I loved the rhythm and rhyme of it. It is HARD to get right, and Dianne White does it well. I loved the snapshots we get--the images of childhood. I also loved the illustrations. They complement the text so well! One of my favorites shows that last years' winter clothes may be too tight--but they are JUST RIGHT for the snow man.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers