WHAT IS GOODBYE?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grimes, Nikki.  2004.  WHAT IS GOODBYE? Ill. by Raúl Colón.  New York: Hyperion Books for Children.  ISBN 0786807784.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Death is an uneasy topic to explore for any children’s author. Done well, it helps kids to process loss in their own life. Done poorly, it can retraumatize a child struggling with their own grief. WHAT IS GOODBYE? is an exploration of grief done well.

Told in the alternating voices of brother and sister Jesse and Jerilyn, distinguishable by the font color of their poems’ titles, i.e. Jesse in blue and Jerilyn in orange, WHAT IS GOODBYE? examines their emotional journey in the year following their older brother, Jaron’s, death.

Through the poems, Grimes siphons off the pain of death and sorrow in order to reach healing. Jesse shows his grief via outward struggle, as in the poem His Name.

His Name ~ Jesse

Mommy won’t say Jaron’s name

So I write it everywhere,

On the walls, my book, his chair.

If I’m punished, I don’t care.

Let her take away my pens.

I’ll write it not he air!

Jerilyn is more introverted in her expressions of sadness, while also imposing responsibility onto herself for her parents, as in the poem The Funeral.

The Funeral ~ Jerilyn

(excerpt)

I’m not sure I want to be here, 

But someone has to take care

Of mother, and father,

Who aren’t able anymore.

Their hurt islike a tunnel,

And all they can see

Is the dark.

It’s up to me

To keep them from bumping

Into walls.

The poetic devices also shift from Jesse to Jerilyn. Jesse’s poems often exhibit rhyming patterns, which capture his status as the younger sibling well. Jerilyn’s voice is more free verse, reflecting her introspective nature and worry for her family.

My favorite poem is the final one, because it brings the family full circle. It’s told in both voices, Photograph ~ Poem for Two Voices, with a separate, dark blue font, indicating the rebinding of their family and the new normal which is achieved. Never forgetting, but tacitly agreeing to live life again: 

Throughout the novella, Raul Colon’s artwork underscores the poignancy of their grief. His muted, almost pointillistic styling, feels dreamlike and otherworldly. This connects to the journey of the family well, as their grief is mixed with disbelief and longing for what is no longer there.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON

This lesson is designed for 4th grade and up.

With students, I think the grief cycle is a dicey one to address. Every student brings a separate experience, and each family a culturalistic lens, through which death is viewed. As a teacher, it can be a minefield. I would recommend the last poem, Photograph ~ Poem for Two Voices, as a launching point for the lesson and an introduction to this book. Why begin at the end? I think it’s important to understand the bibliotherapeutic nature of this particular story. Beginning at the end leads with the understanding that, although difficult, there is hope, even in death. There will be celebration again. There will be the choice to live, love and laugh.

So, I would begin with a reading of the final poem and allow for some discussion of individual experiences related to loss. Especially in elementary school, this often revolves around pets, even among kids who’ve experienced greater loss. Sharing the loss of a pet feels safer than sharing the loss of a parent or grandparent.

I would follow this up with some journal writing. Allow the students some quiet time for reflection and private thoughts. Kids could write in poetic form or prose. The freedom to explore their thoughts and feelings is more important than hammering home any poetic device or form, due to the nature of the book. I find that kids are far more reflective about death and dying than the adults in their lives realize, and this activity would be a great launching point for 100 Questions, an introspective writing assignment.

After they have time to journal, turn to the next blank page, and title it 100 Questions. Read the book THE THREE QUESTIONS by John J. Muth and then model-write a set of ten questions in your own writer’s notebook. Encourage them to begin writing their questions. Each day, devote a few minutes to the 100 Questions activity. The important questions about life and love and relationships will begin to form patterns for kids to explore. From these patterns, we find ourselves back to poetry. Kids choose an idea or theme which resonates throughout their 100 Questions, and then write a poem to the theme. This activity reaches into the hearts of kids and gives them something truly meaningful to express in poetic form.