The Good-bye Book

Author/Authors: Judith Viorst

Type or emotional/crisis issue(s) addressed: ANXIETY

Year of Publication: 1988

Publisher & Location: Atheneum, New York

ISBN #: 0689715811

Target Age Level: Lower elementary

# of Pages: 32

Quality of Illustrations: Good colored pencil drawings

Brief Summary: A boy’s parents are getting ready to go out for the evening. The boy does not want his parent’s to go and he throws a fit and tries to convince his parents not to go. He is also very anxious about the baby sitter and what the baby sitter will make him do. In the end, the baby sitter turns out to be nice and the boy is then able to say good-bye to his parents. The last few pages of the book do not have words but shows the boy relaxing and doing things with the baby sitter. These pages allows some dialogue about what is going on and talking about him discovering that the baby sitter is OK.

Post reading activity:
Talk about the ending of the book and how the boy decided that it was OK if his parents left. If working with a child and parents, have them come up with a leaving ritual they will do for when they leave their child. For example, it could be a special kiss or wave. They may also have a special activity that the child only gets to do when left with the baby sitter. Use puppets to role play the leaving ritual.