Goodbye Brings Hello, written by Dianne White, reviewed by Caroline Rabideau

Summary: Many small children are experiencing their last summers and heading back to school in "Goodbye Brings Hello." Highlighting this time in a child's life as a time of change, this book celebrates milestones of growing up, such as a child's first haircut, outgrowing their favorite shirt and having to buy new clothes, or taking their first plane flight to see grandparents. It all ends with the child's first bus ride to his first day of school.

Straight Talk for Librarians: From a readers view, I think this book was a lot of fun to read. The words have a great rhythm to them, and every 2 page spread seems to flow together quite well. The pictures are simple and clearly illustrate what is going on in the text. Also, I really appreciated that the children on each page are very diverse; boys and girls of all different skin colors, family builds, shapes and sizes. I think this will make it easy for children to identify with and help them to realize that they too have accomplishments they can celebrate.
I do think this would be a good book to read to a kindergarten class in the first week of school. I think it could lead to discussions about things they have accomplished and are proud of, such as learning to tie their shoes. A class book could even be created where, like in this book, they draw themselves doing that thing they have accomplished. That would be a great early assignment that makes students feel like they are all included and part of a community. I also think the book could lead into a discussion about things they want to learn in kindergarten, and goal setting for the year.
My only frustration with this book is that I had no idea it was leading up to going back to school until the last 3 pages. Right in the middle of summer, there's a scene where a child is building a snowman. Then, a few pages later, another child is riding their bike or swimming in a pool. I believe that this story was meant to be about how attending your first day of school is an exciting accomplishment, but I wish it had focused on the things you accomplish in the summer and leading up to that day, rather than things you might do at any given point beforehand.