Grimes, Nikki; Colon, Raul [illus.]. What is Goodbye? New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 2004.
ISBN: 0786807784

Author:
Nikki Grimes is an American author and illustrator of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist. Grimes was born in Harlem, New York. Grimes currently resides in Corona, California and continues to write poetry and books. She is on the board of directors for the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. Her work has earned her honors and recognition from a number of prestigious organizations.

Plot Summary:

This book of poetry tells Jerilyn and Jesse's story when they lost their beloved older brother. The book begins with this poem.

What is goodbye?

Where is the good in it?

One leaves

and many hearts

are broken.

There must be

a better arithmetic

somewhere.

 In this book, each child deals with Jaron's death differently. Jerilyn tries to keep it in and hold it together; Jesse acts out.

            His Name- Jesse                                                  His name- Jerilyn

           Mommy won't say Jaron's name                           Once I asked my mother                      

           so I write it everywhere,                                      where she found

           on the walls, my book, his chair,                        Jaron's name. 

Their mother becomes sad and barely speaks while their dad becomes distant and wants to be alone. The family that use to laugh and joke becomes a sullen, sad family not knowing how to move on. But after a year of anger, pain, and guilt, they come to understand that it's time and they must move on. It's time for a new family picture-with one piece missing, yet whole again. Smile!

                                                                                  

Critical Analysis: 

Grimes writes 26 paired poems to express the stages of grief that the brother and sister are going through after the death of their older brother. The poems are written in free verse and very simple but express the emotion felt by both children. The book begins with the death of the brother, to the funeral, then to the healing of the family over a year period. Jesse's, the younger brother, poems usually rhyme and are shorter than the older sister's which do not rhyme and are more developed and complex.  In the beginning of the book, the poems have a sad, blue feel to them then move to anger and frustration and toward the end more peaceful feel to them.  This book takes us through the family's pain after losing the brother/son and each stage of their grief process. Jesse and Jerilyn handle each stage differently to show that grief is handled differently depending on the person.  Grimes gives an array of emotions that anyone who has experienced a loss will identify with. The illustrations by Raul Colon are very fitting to the story to show the turmoil and sadness. Each abstract drawing represent the struggle of the children and the parents as they move through these stages of grief. The reader can feel the emotions in the eyes of the family in each illustration.  

Connections:

•           Everett Anderson’s Goodbye by Lucille Clifton
•          Jazmine's Notebook by Nikki Grimes
•          A Pocket Full of Poems by Nikki Grimes
•          Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes

*Have students create a memory book, poster, or box and fill it with things they remember from someone they've lost.
*Have students write a letter to a person that they've lost.

Awards/Reviews:

• 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children
• 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award
• 2011 Horace Mann Upstanders Award for Almost Zero: a Dyamonde Daniel Book
• 1993 NAACP Image Award Finalist for Malcolm X: a Force for Change

Insightfully and concisely, Grimes (Bronx Masquerade ) traces the stages of grief and healing, through the 26 paired poems of two siblings mourning their older brother, Jaron. Jesse, "too young" to go to the funeral, expresses loss in raw terms; his poems always lead the pairings.- Publishers Weekly

The unimaginably painful situation of losing a sibling is the theme of this poetry collection, told in alternating viewpoints by a younger brother and sister in the year after their older brother's sudden death from an unspecified cause. The 52 poems are organized in pairs with the same title, moving in subject from the initial shock of hearing of the death, through the funeral, and then through the stages of grief and on to the gradual adjustment to the new circumstances of their changed family life. Grimes succeeds in creating distinct personalities for each member of the family and distinctly different ways of dealing with their grief as well. -Kirkus Review