Ira Says Goodbye

Ira confronts several emotions when he learns his best friend Reggie is moving away.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 4 Best friends Ira and Reggie, whom readers will remember from Ira Sleeps Over (Houghton, 1972), are backbut not for long. Reggie is moving out of town. With much humor and a clear sense of what is important to children, Waber portrays the range of feelings and emotions that accompanies this move. At first both boys are upset at the prospect, then Reggie gets excited about his expectations of his new town (``In Greendale, all people do is have fun,'' watching a killer shark that snorts and riding the thriller rides in the park), making Ira even more upset, and angry. As Reggie is about to leave, though, he bursts into tears and the two boys reconcile. Later that afternoon Reggie calls from Greendale to invite Ira for a weekend visit. Cheerful full-page and vignette watercolors on large white pages bring Ira's first-person narrative alive with style. Ira's concerns reflect those of any child in a similar situation, but its humor is even more universal, so there should be a wide and responsive audience for this funny and moving book. David Gale, ``School Library Journal''

Bernard Waber, who has written eight delightful books about Lyle the Crocodile, a little boy named Ira, and a firefly named Torchy, is the author of more than seventeen picture books for children. Widely praised by reviewers for his ability to describe common family problems, he is best loved by children for his freeflowing humor and gentle characters.