What is Goodbye, by Niki Grimes

What is Goodbye? By Nikki Grimes Illustrations by Raul Colon. ISBN # 0-7868-0778-4

This beautiful book artfully and caringly deals with the death. Jaron unexpectantly dies and leaves behind his mother, father, sister Jerilyn, and brother Jesse. Author Niki Grimes tells the story in free verse poetry in two voices, Jesse and Jerilyn.

Jesse and Jerilyn deal with the death of their older brother differently, which is evident in their poems. Jesse acts out visibly and angrily with his grieving, easily recognized by everyone he comes in contact with. Jerilyn mothers everyone burying her own grief. In the poem “First Day Back”, Jesse’s mood is tense, and Jerilyn’s mood is one of control, and keeping her feelings in:

First Day Back --Jesse

One stupid word
echoes through my day:
sorry. Sorry. SORRY
I hate that word!
I punch the air
and storm away.


First Day Back--Jerilyn

No one to mother, here.
I drop my guard too soon,
forget there are tears
waiting in the wings.
They show up on the scene
in the middle of P.E., but
I catch them quick,
shove them back in place.
"You're not doing this to me,"
I tell them.
I'm the strong one.
I'm in charge

For a year, Jesse And Jerilyn pour out their emotions, and through the year, the reader sees a convergence of the nature of their feelings, culminating in a beautiful family event.

Niki Grimes fully captures the feeling of these characters. This is an honest book dealing with death. I recommend this book to everyone fourth grade and up.