GOODBYE, HELLO

An engaging and heartwarming depiction of a military family’s reunion.

In a small U.S. city, a pale-skinned mom and brown-skinned child and infant in arms bid goodbye to “Pop-Pop” and “Gram” and climb into a yellow cab for the start of a long journey. They’re going to be reunited with a U.S. Navy sailor in a new port; they eventually reach Japan after moving by mobile walkway, elevator, air-train, plane, and bus. Brisk two-beat alternately rhyming lines whisk readers along through the tedium of travel, though the many people portrayed are mostly smiling, and some are particularly helpful. Finally the big ship looms on the page horizon, and the family joyfully embraces their other mom, a Black sailor: “Now we’re four / More to love.” Readers can play seek-and-find to spot the dozen uniformed workers who interact with travelers and the various modes of transport depicted, including a wheelchair. Wiseman’s vigorous but precise fine black outlines show a wide variety of skin colors, though most travelers wear bright, casual outfits. Distant, aerial perspectives include a viewpoint high above the fantastically colorful buildings lining city blocks. Repeat trips through the pages are guaranteed by the numerous details to pore over (though one crucial detail somehow escaped Wiseman’s discerning eye: seat belts!).

Armchair travelers, first-time fliers, and airport habitués will buckle up willingly for this vicarious voyage.