Oh No! Time to Go!: A Book of Goodbyes
A young boy finds that there is always something sad about saying good-bye, from Auntie’s “Toodle-oo, ta-ta, kiss-kiss” to Uncle’s southern drawling “G’bye, y’all . . . Take it easy.” Even slapping hands with cool Cousin Jazzy on a city street (“Gotta split, gotta blow, / see ya man, I gotta go”) gives the boy the blues. The ink-and-watercolor pictures show the boy’s warm greetings, as well as his melancholy partings. The most wrenching good-bye comes when a friend next door moves away, and the boy realizes that “Don’t be a stranger!” is not just cliché. Two big double-page spreads depict the boy left behind in empty space that reveals the meaning of “so long.” The simple rhyme and wordplay add dimension to the scenarios, which move in tone from casual to heartfelt, and will encourage kids to think about the feelings behind the familiar things that they hear and say. Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman