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Formats
Ebook Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-75936-4 B08NCJG74N
  • 33 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-74766-8 0578747669
  • 33 pages
  • $13.99
Paperback Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-75935-7 0578759357
  • 33 pages
  • $11.99
Ta'Shay Mason
Author
But i don't want to say GOODBYE!

Children/Young Adult; General Fiction (including literary and historical); (Market)

For a little girl who has lost someone she loves, saying goodbye seems impossible. In this poignant and heartfelt book, author Ta’Shay Mason expertly crafts a tender story about how to make peace with the death of a parent...by honoring them. Through soft and soothing words, the author weaves a story that shares both the commonality and uniqueness of loss, with the mother and child coming up with their own special way to honor and remember their beloved family member. But i don’t want to say GOODBYE! is a perfect book to help any family experiencing grief and also for those young readers who might need help in understanding someone else who is going through a loss.
Reviews
Readers' Favorite

But I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye! is about a little girl who is dealing with the sudden loss of her father. She’s sad because she misses him and knows that he won’t be there anymore. While her mother was very sad also, she told her daughter that memories and stories will keep him alive forever. She then told her that the funeral is where people can come to share stories and memories. It also gives them a chance to say goodbye. On the day of the funeral, both the little girl and her mother were very sad and her mom told her that it will make people think about her father. They might miss him but there are so many memories that will remain. It was hard for the little girl, but she stood up in front of all her family and friends saying how much she missed him, and that she was not ready to say goodbye...

I found this book so touching and heartbreaking. Death and dying is a very difficult subject to write about, especially for a child, but I think Ta’Shay Mason has done a wonderful job writing about it in a way that young children can grasp and understand. It’s a very authentic feeling as we read about the grief of the main character. It’s complicated but loss is a difficult thing to go through. There are so many different emotions and stages of grief. I also really enjoyed the illustrations. They were beautifully done and capture all the emotions one feels with loss. But I Don’t Want To Say Goodbye! is a beautifully written story and I can’t wait to see what the author writes next.

Reading With Your Kids

Explaining death or a tragedy to a child is one of the toughest tasks a parent will face. But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE!, a children’s picture book written by Ta’Shay Mason is a gentle first introduction to the concepts of loss, death, and remembrance.

But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! acknowledges how difficult it is to say goodbye permanently to someone you loved. The book explores a range of possible reactions and emotions from the perspective of a little girl who has just lost her father and isn’t ready to say goodbye. Her mother puts together a funeral for her father, where friends and family members come together to share nice stories and celebrate her father’s life. They come up with a unique idea to keep her father’s memories alive in their lives. They plan to do something that his father loved to do.  Protecting the earth, a cause close to his heart. Ta’Shay Mason beautifully outlines the reasons why people die, introduces what a funeral is, and explores the difficult feelings and emotions of saying goodbye and missing someone very much. This book makes an excellent discussion starter. Colorful & whimsical Illustrations will help make the subject matter more approachable for young children.

But I Don’t Want to Say GOODBYE! is perfect in its simplicity and empathy. It normalizes death and grief for even the youngest readers. It covers a spectrum of emotions and lets kids know they are not alone in how they are feeling, while also assuring them that they can go on living, even when they are sad.

This is a truly special and important book—a real must-have–for young children.

Reedsy Discovery

The cover art immediately grabbed me! A teary-eyed, little girl behind a container of some sort with the words “Love You, Daddy” on it, a puppy, and a boat in the background. Initially, I don’t know if Daddy is going away on a long trip or has passed away, but the cover is making me emotional.

The opening lines are so raw and honest: “Today is not a good day. Yesterday wasn’t good, either. And tomorrow, definitely, will not be good.” I think these were my favorite sentences in the story. Then we learn that they will be saying goodbye to Daddy with a funeral.

But i don’t want to say GOODBYE is a well-written, beautifully illustrated story that honestly deals with the sadness of the death of a loved one. My eyes teared up a few times as I read through the book. The artwork shows the happy and sad feelings of the characters as they remember Daddy. Tanya Colton-Cauley did a great job with the illustrations.

The main character remembers her friends who have had to attend different types of funerals for various family members. The way the little girl and her mommy celebrate Daddy’s life was one I was not aware of before reading this book, but sounds like a lovely way to memorialize someone.

Death is a difficult topic to approach with adults, and can be increasingly more difficult with youth and children. I think Ta’Shay Mason did a great job gently approaching this challenging subject. I would not recommend this book to a preschool, but it could be given as a gift to a family mourning the loss of a loved one. This story would best be read within a family or close-friend setting and allowing, even encouraging, any tears. I will be keeping this book in mind for the future.

The Prairies Book Review

A gentle, expert treatment of a difficult subject…

Mason adeptly explores grief in this heartfelt, poignant picture book. Everyone is preparing for the funeral, but it’s difficult for Mason’s little protagonist to come to terms with her father’s death. As she tries to make peace with the unfortunate situation, she realizes there is a special way she could honor her beloved dad: doing something that would help protect the earth, a cause close to her dad’s heart. Mason fills her poignant text with heartfelt emotion, adeptly capturing her young protagonist’s acute pain and sadness. The beautiful, personality-laden illustrations give the whole proceedings an air of solemn dignity that’s perfectly at par with the book’s somber mood. The realistic scenario and protagonists will strike a chord with young readers struggling with similar situation. Mason has crafted a remarkably imagined book that is profound in its understanding of the grim subject of a parent’s death.

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-75936-4 B08NCJG74N
  • 33 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-74766-8 0578747669
  • 33 pages
  • $13.99
Paperback Details
  • 11/2020
  • 978-0-578-75935-7 0578759357
  • 33 pages
  • $11.99
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