The Goodbye Book
The Goodbye Book by Todd Parr takes about 1.5 minutes to read aloud (186 words, about 1 sentence a page), and it lands best with children aged 2-5.
Measured read-aloud timeabout 1.5 minutes
- Words
- 186
- Sentences a page
- 1
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5survives a fortnight on repeat
- Vocabulary
- 1/5plain words
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The useful verdict
Why The Goodbye Book works
One fish and a few words a page, naming the parts of grief that rarely make it into a children's book - not wanting to eat, not wanting to talk about it, wanting everyone to go away. At under two minutes it is the only bereavement book here you can read in the middle of a bad moment.
Before you buy it
It never names what was lost. That is deliberate and makes it flexible, but a child who wants the situation explained will not find it here.
Themes: grief, feelings, fish, comfort.
Same shape, new story
Books like The Goodbye Book
Matched by length, refrain, sentence density, and listener—not just subject.
The Rabbit Listenedabout 2.5 minutes · 4/5 re-read
The Color Monster: A Story About Emotionsabout 3 minutes · 4/5 re-read
In My Heart: A Book of Feelingsabout 4 minutes · 4/5 re-read
The Leaving Morningabout 2.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Childrenabout 4.5 minutes · 2/5 re-read
Straight answers
Questions parents ask about The Goodbye Book
- How long does it take to read The Goodbye Book aloud?
- About 1.5 minutes at an unhurried pace, from a word count of 186. Reading it fast shaves perhaps a third off; stopping for questions on every page can double it.
- What age is The Goodbye Book actually for?
- Ages 2-5 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 1 sentence a page and vocabulary at 1 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
- Does The Goodbye Book survive being read on repeat?
- Yes. It survives a fortnight of nightly repeats, which is the real test.
- Is The Goodbye Book 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.