My six-year-old loves to read! It’s time he shares his thoughts on what he’s reading. I am always pleased when he wants to write about his reading: a budding reviewer in his own right!
Bad Bye, Good Bye by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Jonathan Bean, is about a boy moving. In the story, the boy is mad because he thinks the moving person is taking away his toys! I know that from the pictures. Every page only has two or four words. For example, the first page says, “Bad day Bad box.” In the middle, the words describe what is in the car and what is out of the car. In the end, the phrases start with “New” or “Good.” In the end, the boy makes a new friend and is happy again.
I liked the book because I liked the way the author and illustrator made every page focus on one thing. In the beginning, the backgrounds are in black and white and fade away. The boy is in color, though. I also liked the way the illustrator made the pictures explain the words.
Mom’s Thoughts: The first time I read Bad Bye, Good Bye, I was very intrigued by how the author and illustrator were such a team. The story would be incomplete without the words as it would be incomplete without the illustrations. I enjoyed, also, the story as it was told. At first, the boy’s move is a traumatic event. As he drives across the country (having a new adventure), the tone changes into more neutral feelings about the move. In the end, of course, the child learns that new adventures are okay and that making new friends is possible wherever you go.
I think Bad Bye, Good Bye is a great book for discussing inference in a text. There is so much left unsaid in direct words. However, the evidence in the illustrations and the subtleties of the few words there provide much evidence of the boy’s changing emotions.
