In Goodbye, Hello: A Going Home Travel Adventure, author Angela H. Dale (Bus Stop) and artist Daniel Wiseman (When Your Llama Needs a Haircut) infuse a weighty topic with charm and joy: the separation and reunion of U.S. military families. Dale and Wiseman add a significant layer by revealing a breadth of diversity--in this family, there are two mothers of clearly different ethnicities who are parents to two BIPOC children. Given the not-so-long-ago U.S. military policy of "Don't ask, don't tell" for LGBTQ+ military personnel, Goodbye, Hello certainly underscores progress toward growing acceptance and empathic inclusion.
On a New York City sidewalk, a mother and her two young children are ready for transit, saying goodbye to the grandparents as a yellow-cab driver begins to load their luggage: "One last hug./ Strap and click./ Airport, please./ Quick, quick, quick." A long journey awaits the trio, through the international terminal, long lines, and a "hustle, bustle" to reach their gate. Once on board, it's soon "Wheels go round./ Rumble, whoosh./ Goodbye, ground/ Cars and buildings/ shrink--goodbye./ Hello, clouds,/ sun, and sky." After playtime, dinnertime, sleeptime, waketime, and snacktime, the family lands in Tokyo for more "hustle, bustle" through lines at immigration, baggage claim, and another shuttle: "Tired travelers./ Tired heart. / It's so hard/ to be apart." After one "last big wait" at the Navy pier, the children spot their other parent: "Hello, Mama!/ 'Missed you so!' " Finally "we're four./ More to love."
Dale's succinct, measured verses are inspired by her own experiences as a U.S. Navy spouse. Her rhythmic text, with its distinct beat, should work as both a read aloud and as practice for beginning readers. The age-appropriate simplicity of Dale's writing and the step-by-step travel explanations it provides give Wiseman plenty of opportunities to craft a visual story. His whimsical, vibrant digital art depicts wonderfully colorful New York City street corners, the constant motion of all manner of airport travelers and staff, and the excited welcome-home crowds on the Navy pier. He further uses his endpapers as inviting interactive prompts, to spot "workers in uniform" at the beginning and watch for "ways to move people & things" at story's end. A few minute but specific details are problematic: for example, the Japanese in the Tokyo airport is inaccurate and direct flights from New York to Tokyo are out of Kennedy, not LaGuardia, as the arrival baggage carousel indicates. Small quibbles aside, the standout message here is all about family being together: "Goodbye, goodbyes,/ Hello, hugs." --Terry Hong
Shelf Talker: Angela H. Dale and Daniel Wiseman warmly celebrate a very special, very inclusive family reunion in their welcoming picture book, Goodbye, Hello.