A Note to the Reader
Welcome readers and Happy November. We’ve got some GREAT books coming up, including this one from Angela H. Dale.
Tell us about your book
Goodbye, Hello, A Going Home Travel Adventure is the story of a young girl, her Mommy, and new sibling making the 24-hour trip back home to reunite with Mama. The narrative journey goes from grandparents’ doorstep, in taxis, planes and buses, over roads, cities and a vast ocean, through sunset and sunrise, to the overseas Naval base where sailors, including Mama, are arriving in port after a long deployment. The emotional journey follows our young protagonist through all the ups and downs of separation and travel, from anticipation to longing, from excitement to fatigue, from patience and waiting to the relief of arrival and the joy of reconnecting with Mama.
The author’s note talks about Navy homecoming traditions, as well as the proud, public participation in such traditions by LGBTQ+ sailors beginning on September 20, 2011.
What do you hope your young readers will take away from your book?
Goodbye, Hello is a story of process, sequence, empathy and love, for children excited about vehicles, adventure, travel and new siblings – and for children who may never have experienced those things.
How might a teacher or librarian use your book in the classroom?
Goodbye, Hello centers a young girl of light brown skin and her multiracial LGBTQ+ Naval family. The text highlights opposites, directional words, repetition, and onomatopoeia, as for example in this excerpt describing the girl’s experience of takeoff:
Strap and click.
Wheels go round.
Rumble, whoosh.
Goodbye, ground.
And then, pages later, the passage describing landing:
Trays go up.
Wheels go down.
Bump, bump, BUMP!
Hello, ground.”
The endpapers feature two concept seek-and-find lists that children can reference before, during, and after a classroom or library read-aloud, encouraging young readers to delve more deeply into the illustrations and how they help tell the story. In the front, “Workers in Uniform” can be a jump-off for talking about what grown-ups do for work, as well as for ‘find the helpers’ conversations. At the end of the book, “Ways to Move People & Things” provides a fun way to learn more about transportation and travel, as well as physical abilities and disabilities.
There are several History and Civics calendar tie-ins, among them:
April: Month of the Military Child
May: National Military Appreciation Month, Month of the Military Caregiver, First Sunday in May: International Family Equality Day, Friday before Mother’s Day: Military Spouse Appreciation Day
June: LGBTQ Pride Month,
June 1: LGBTQ Families Day
October: LGBTQ History Month
October 8: International Lesbian Day
Oct. 13: Navy Birthday
November: National Military Families Month
November 11: Veterans Day
Can you share an exercise or activity that teachers can do with students after they’ve read your book?
In addition to the seek-and-finds, teachers and librarians can have their young readers think about, and list or draw:
- Sequential processes, for example:
- Where does luggage go during a trip
- What happens on an airplane flight from takeoff to landing, or on a trip from door to door
- How might a stuffed animal, doll, or toy describe a bedtime routine, a trip to visit grandparents or cousins, or a day at the park.
- Pairs and opposites
- Language: active verbs, onomatopoeic words, directional words and prepositions
- Things we may say Hello and Goodbye to, including people, places and objects, as well as events, milestones and life stages
- SEL exploration of the feelings tied to separation, journey, and reconnection to people, places, rituals and routines, during common, occasional or one-time experiences
What book(s) pair well with your book?
Another fun book that features adventurous travel via many methods is Special Delivery written by Philip Stead and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Richard Scarry’s books include wonderful vehicles and workers, as well as recurring characters to seek and find. Milo Imagines the World written by Matt de la Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson also deals with the excitement and anxiety of travel and reunion when two siblings take the subway to visit their mom in prison. Two White Rabbits written by Jairo Buitrago, illustrated by Rafael Yockteng, and translated by Elisa Amado, shows the journey of a young child and father migrating north toward the US border.
About the Author
Angela H. Dale writes picture books for children and children at heart, as well as poems (which sometimes become books). Goodbye, Hello: A Going Home Travel Adventure, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman (Holiday House, November 5, 2024), was inspired by traveling overseas as a Navy family. Her debut picture book Bus Stop was inspired by a new school bus stop down the street from her home in Maryland. She still has many other places and characters waiting for their stories to be told.
