Bad Bye, Good Bye-Perfect Picture Book Friday

Posted on by Penny Parker Klostermann

I just read another huggable book today! I’m so excited to add it to the Perfect Picture Book Friday list.

BadByeGoodBye

Bad Bye, Good Bye

Written by Deborah Underwood

Illustrated by Jonathan Bean

Ages 4 – 8 years

HMH Books for Young Readers April 2014

Themes: Moving

Synopsis: A boy and his family are packing up their old home, and the morning feels scary and sad. But when he arrives at his new home, an evening of good byes awaits: bye to new friends, bye to glowing fireflies, bye to climbing trees.

Opening:
Bad day
Bad box
Bad mop
Bad blocks

Resources: I found articles on the Internet about preparing a child to move, but most were advice to parents instead of activities to do with the child. I thought of making a scrapbook.
Create in spreads. On the left side have reminders and memories of the current house, yard, park, school, town, etc. On the right side write the title New and leave it blank. Talk with the child about how you will fill it up with new memories when you get to your new home. Hopefully this will create some excitement about the new home as well as acknowledge the importance of the home the child is leaving. Include all members of the family, including pets. You could also add a “planning” part to the scrapbook and let the child create a new house from magazine clippings or drawings instead of leaving it blank. Or do some of both and leave space to add to the book when you get to the new house.

Why I Like This Book: The text is rhyming which is always a bonus for me. And the book tells so much in so few perfectly selected words. I believe the word count is 80! Can you believe that? And those 80 words complete a beautiful story. When I closed the cover on my first read-through, I literally said, “This is magical!” The illustrations add to the magic. As the story took me on a journey with the boy moving to his new home, I felt every emotion. I felt it in the words and I felt it in the art. Do.not.miss.this.one.folks!

And if you have friends who are moving across town or across the country, give them this book to share with their children.

To find more perfect picture books, head on over to Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog and check out all the fantastic selections! Each book is reviewed by a picture book-lovin’ reviewer, AND includes activities to go along with the book. You will find a handy list right HERE.

30 thoughts on “Bad Bye, Good Bye-Perfect Picture Book Friday”

    1. Thanks, Rhythm. This is such a perfect example of a great rhyming book. Everyone talks about how good rhyme isn’t forced, etc. and this one shows that. It’s a mentor text for those wanting to see rhyme done right!

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  10. I’ve seen a lot of promo for this book – have to admit I haven’t found it yet. It is on my list!

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  11. Oh, I’ve been waiting for this one. I love Deborah Underwood. Unfortunately, my library doesn’t have this one yet. But it does have EASTER CAT, which I’ve just put on hold. Thanks Penny!

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  12. I’ve been thinking about looking at this book since seeing it mentioned in Linda Ashman’s Nuts & Bolts book! Thanks for the nice review and the reminder for me to go check it out. 🙂

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