TIME TO SAY BYE-BYE

Many books have mimicked Goodnight Moon, and this rendition applies much the same formula, substituting the title phrase with bye-byes and extending it through a busy day.

A toddler is taken to the park, where he swings, digs and has fun, but when it’s time to go, he says, “I don’t want to leave.” The unseen adult says, “It’s time to say bye-bye,” so the child obligingly says bye-bye to the swing, the sandbox and his friend. A visit to Grandma sees a similar scenario, with bye-byes to the cookies, flowers and Grandma. Back home means eating, building and a toy parade, with subsequent bye-byes to dishes, blocks and toys. Bath time and bedtime follow with night-nights to the light, books and Mommy, with time for sweet dreams. Cocca-Leffler’s sprightly illustrations are sweet but not saccharine, and their positivity is useful for adults trying to deal with “I don’t want to go” whiners. Each objection to leaving by the toddler is expressed in the first-person and printed in red.

So effective is the delivery here that parents may find themselves saying bye-bye to things they’d never imagined talking to.