Everett Anderson's Goodbye

Everett Anderson's Goodbye
By:  Lucille Clifton
Illustrated by:  Ann Grifalconi
Coretta Scott King Award
Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Copyright 1983

                                                          Everett Anderson's Goodbye

    The passing away of a loved one is an emotional time for those left behind. During this time we experience grief and its five stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Everett Anderson's Goodbye is the story and poem of a young boy's grief after the death of his father. The story is written in the order of the grieving stages. For example Everette's story being with him denying that his father will no longer be at the park with him. It ends with Everette accepting that "love doesn't stop" with death. 
     I am absolutely in love with this book. As I was reading it all, I could think about was experiencing these same stages when I lost my friend to suicide in the fourth grade. He was the first person I was old enough to remember dying. It was extremely painful to share the same pain when thinking that my friend was no longer going to be able to be at recess with me. This would have been an excellent book for my fourth grade teachers to read to our class. It would have shown us what we can expect while going through the difficult time and helped us to realize everyone is feeling the same way.
     Not only was I able to connect with this book, but I was also captivated by the illustrations. Grifalconi did a fascinating job depicting the stages of grief. Just by looking at the Everette's face, in her illustrations, it is easy to identify which stage of grief he is experiencing. I would read this book without hesitation to any child experiencing grief for whatever reason. It's hard to lose something you really care about, but I strongly believe this book would make a positive impact.