Goodbye House
This short book gives children a dedicated space to say goodbye to their empty rooms. It follows a bear and his father as they walk through a house before the movers arrive.
Goodbye House by Frank Asch is estimated to take about 5.5 minutes to read aloud (420 words, about 1 sentence a page), and it lands best with children aged 2-5.
- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 5.5 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Estimated word count
- 420Our estimate
- Sentences per page
- 1Sentence per page
- Re-read tolerance
- 3/5holds up
- Vocabulary level
- 2/5everyday words
- Best for
- Ages 2-5Our editorial fit
Our review
Moving is often so chaotic that the "goodbye" part gets skipped. This book focuses on that specific, quiet moment of acknowledging an empty space.
Because it's short, it's a practical tool for reading on the actual day of a move to help process the transition.
Before you buy it
The pages depicting empty rooms have a genuinely heavy feeling. It can evoke a sense of sadness in a child that they might not be ready for yet.
Themes
- moving
- saying goodbye
- bears
- empty rooms
Books like Goodbye House
Matched by refrain, density, length, and listener—not just the subject.
The Leaving Morningabout 4 minutes estimated · 3/5 re-read
The Berenstain Bears' Moving Dayabout 9.5 minutes estimated · 3/5 re-read
Boomer's Big Dayabout 6 minutes estimated · 3/5 re-read
Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Awayabout 6.5 minutes estimated · 3/5 re-read
A Kiss Goodbyeabout 12 minutes estimated · 3/5 re-read
Questions parents ask
How long does it take to read Goodbye House aloud?
About 5.5 minutes at an unhurried pace, including a standard allowance for page turns, pictures and participation, from a word count of 420. Stopping for a longer conversation on every page will add more time.
What age is Goodbye House actually for?
Ages 2-5 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 1 sentence a page and vocabulary at 2 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
Does Goodbye House survive being read on repeat?
Yes, reasonably. It stays bearable through the repeat-request phase without becoming a favourite forever.
Is Goodbye House a good book for a child who will not sit still?
It helps that it has a refrain a child can join in with. Those three features are what keep a wriggling toddler listening, far more than the subject matter does.
Will my child memorise Goodbye House?
Probably, and fast. The book leans on a repeated refrain, and at 3 out of 5 for re-read tolerance it survives the nightly repeats that get a book memorised. Expect your child to chant the pattern back before they can actually read.
Can a beginning reader read Goodbye House on their own?
It is closer than most picture books. With 1 sentence a page and plain vocabulary (2 out of 5), a confident early reader can attempt it, though it is written to be read aloud first.
Is Goodbye House part of a series?
Yes, it belongs to the Moonbear series. It stands on its own, so you can start here without reading the others in order, then move to the rest if it lands.
What themes does Goodbye House cover?
We tag it with moving, saying goodbye, bears and empty rooms. Those are the threads that actually run through the book, not just the ones on the cover, which is how it earns its place on our themed lists rather than a keyword match.
