A Hello, Goodbye Story Time for the New Year and Beyond

  Today I’d like to share a book about goodbyes and hellos, endings and beginnings.  Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend!  by Cori Doerrfeld is primarily about a friendship, which begins with a “hello” and continues through lots of experiences, including a sad “goodbye.” But it’s also about enjoying different, sometimes new experiences while they last. I found this story very relatable, as my inner child read it thinking of all of the hellos and goodbyes from my own childhood as a military brat.  Continue reading for more about this book and some story time ideas to pair with this charming story. Plus some more books featuring hellos and goodbyes!

What is Read, Discuss, Do?



Read, Discuss, Do! exists to help you extend the magic of story time beyond the last page!

Reading with a child is a magical thing. It's fun. It helps create and maintain human connection. It helps young readers build their vocabulary, learn literacy skills, and develop empathy. Imagine taking that magic and supercharging it! You can, and you don't have to be a librarian or reading teacher to do it. All it takes is three simple steps:

Read a book. Talk about the book. Do a simple activity inspired by the book.

Simple. No need to search Pinterest for "story time ideas" and end up lost in a sea of boards, lists and links dedicated to library and classroom story time ideas. 

That is why I started Read, Discuss, Do! To offer simple (often book-specific) ideas that can be used by anyone--parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians--to make the most out of reading with kids.

So, take a look around. Hopefully you will find some ideas and inspiration to read, discuss, and do with the young readers in your life.

Happy reading! 

Rebecca