Customer Reviews

Everett Anderson's Goodbye (Reading Rainbow)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is absolutely the best book out there for a young child who has lost a parent. Written by Lucille Cliffton in simple rhyme, it goes through the 5 stages of grief. As the last stage of grief is acceptance, it ends with "and no matter what happens when people die, love doesn't stop and neither will I." The illustrations of this young African American boy and his mother are charcoal line drawings ~~ beautifully illustrating the profound loss this child has suffered, affirming the loss and yet reassuring the reader that acceptance and peace will come.

This is one of my all time favorites. A beautiful, tender book about a small boy going through the five stages of grief. A book that reaches out to you and comforts you.

I read this book the first year I was in the pastorate, some 14 years ago or so. It has been the perfect book to help my younger staff people understand the process of grief. This book has never failed to bring up the emotions of loss which every staff member has suffered. The five stages of grief, is a universal understanding which has helped every adult I have worked with, to understand how they are "normal" in their feelings.

Further, every staff person I have worked with, has bought this book. We use it more for adults, than for children. (Though it is very good for children.) The reason why, is because the verse is very sharp and connects with the soul of people. The adult empathizes with the little boy. This, in turn, connects the adult with the universal nature of grief.

I could spend hours upon hours of counseling grief without this book. With this book, most of my parishoners who have suffered loss, work through the stages with heads up and eyes open... tears and all. All have moved through the stages without fixating very long in any of them.

Lucille Clifton, is simply a genius. Ann Grifalconi (illustrator) brings the genius to Clifton's wise and calming verse with her warm charcoal illustrations. Thank you, ladies.

We all grieve like children. I love the drawings in this book. I think it is a good book for children who have lost a parent. Also check out the Fall of Freddie the Leaf.

best book for children when some one they love dies
simply identifyies the feelings they are having

I ordered this book to read with children in my school who are dealing with the death of a loved one. It is a wonderful book.

I ordered this book based on the fantastic reviews, but it was not what I expected, and I returned it. I was looking for a book for a young boy (4)who recently lost his father to Leukemia. This book might be good for young children who are very angry and going through the extreme emotions that can happen with a loss like this, but the boy I wanted to give this to is not having such extreme emotions. He is sad, as can be expected, and misses his Dad, but he's not acting out in anger or "mad at the world", as the boy in this book. Maybe this would be better suited to someone who had more of a sudden loss, and isn't coping well emotionally. It just wasn't right for the situation in my case. Overall, I felt it was too negative, and just not the right choice for someone who is already coping with a loss in a healthy way.