BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nikki. 2004. WHAT IS GOODBYE? Ill. by Raúl Colón. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786807784
Grimes, Nikki. 2004. WHAT IS GOODBYE? Ill. by Raúl Colón. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786807784
PLOT SUMMARY
Jesse and then Jerilyn each share their thoughts and feelings following the death of their big brother Jaron. This brother and sister take us on a one year journey with them as they learn of their brothers’ death, experience different phases of grief, and finally accept the new dynamics of their family life.
Jesse and then Jerilyn each share their thoughts and feelings following the death of their big brother Jaron. This brother and sister take us on a one year journey with them as they learn of their brothers’ death, experience different phases of grief, and finally accept the new dynamics of their family life.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Grimes has researched the effect of death on children quite well. Her words are simple, but the message is deep…..emotional, gut-rendering, heart-felt, and painful. Death pays a visit to a regular, normal family like yours or mine. These two children pour out all their hurt, pain, anger, and confusion in their everyday life; trying to figure out how to live a normal day when a major piece of their lives is missing. They have to make room for each others’ sorrow as well as their parents. Grimes’ powerful, insightful, and informative journal is a valuable must-read for children and adults alike.
Grimes has researched the effect of death on children quite well. Her words are simple, but the message is deep…..emotional, gut-rendering, heart-felt, and painful. Death pays a visit to a regular, normal family like yours or mine. These two children pour out all their hurt, pain, anger, and confusion in their everyday life; trying to figure out how to live a normal day when a major piece of their lives is missing. They have to make room for each others’ sorrow as well as their parents. Grimes’ powerful, insightful, and informative journal is a valuable must-read for children and adults alike.
Grimes has Jesse speak through rhythm and rhyme: ABAB/CDED/FGHG; AABB/CCDD; ABAC/DEDF/GHGH. Usually his story is shorter. Although Jerlyn's voice doesn't rhyme very often (usually not at all, and when it does, there is only one or two words per poem) - mound/sound, beat/seat, chatter/matter, thing/sting - Grimes is still able to give it rhythm and flow. Her last poem, Photograph ~ Poem for Two Voices, is a fun poem to read out loud and ends the book on a gleeful and upbeat note, letting children know that there is happiness after tragedy.
Colón's use of symbolism, hues of blue, for most of the illustrations is significant. He has captured the innocence and sadness of these two young children with his diverse expressive eyes. His pictures accentuate the feelings of having no control over their circumstances …..emotionally or physically (Jesse when the truck leaves with Jaron’s belongings; Jerilyn when she sits on the couch and her mom will not hold her hand).
AWARDS
ALANotable Book 2004
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year
CapitolChoices
CCBCBest Choices 2005
Chicago LibraryBest of the Best Books for Kids
NCTENotable Book 2005 (Children's Literature Assembly)
New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
Parents' Choice Silver HonorAward 2004
School LibraryJournalBest Books 2004
ALANotable Book 2004
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year
CapitolChoices
CCBCBest Choices 2005
Chicago LibraryBest of the Best Books for Kids
NCTENotable Book 2005 (Children's Literature Assembly)
New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing
Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
Parents' Choice Silver HonorAward 2004
School LibraryJournalBest Books 2004
REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “a prime example of how poetry and story can be combined to extend one another.”
BLACK ISSUES BOOK REVIEW – “simple and direct, poetic search for healing in a family devastated by the loss of a son.”
BOOKLIST – “rhymed couplets…singsong sounds…tight rhythm…feels distractingly at odds with the somber subject and raw emotions—feelings that Grimes get just right.”
KIRKUS REVIEWS – “Grimes succeeds in creating distinct personalities for each member of the family and distinctly different ways of dealing with their grief as well.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY – “Colón's inset paintings, often incorporating symbolic elements that convey the abstract quality of feelings, round out this portrait of a loving family coping, alone and together, with their grief
BOOKPAGE – “Grimes, who lost her father when she was 15, calls upon those memories… take the reader through the familiar painful process we all experience when a loved one dies.”
CONNECTIONS
Other Books to read
Collins, David R. TO THE POINT: A STORY ABOUT E. B. WHITE. (Series: A Carolrhoda creative minds book). Ill. by Amy Johnson. ISBN 0-87614-345-1 (lib. bdg.)
Grollman, Earl A. TALKING ABOUT DEATH: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PARENT AND CHILD. ISBN 978-0807023617
Lewis, J. Patrick. ONCE UPON A TOMB: GRAVELY HUMOR4OUS VERSES. Ill. by Simon Bartram. ISBN 9780763618377
Marta, Suzy Yehl. HEALING THE HURT, RESTORING THE HOPE. ISBN 978-1427607423
Schaefer, Dan Ph.D., & Lyons, Christine. HOW DO WE TELL THE CHILDREN? A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR HELPING CHILDREN TWO TO TEEN COPE WHEN SOMEONE DIES. ISBN 978-1458726582
Woodson, Jacqueline. LOCOMOTION. ISBN 9780142415528
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