GOODBYE, HELLO + interview with author Angela H. Dale + a giveaway!

I am so thrilled to be talking today to Angela H. Dale about her FANTASTIC book, Goodbye, Hello: A Going Home Travel Adventure, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman, and published by Holiday House. It released into the world last November.

Here’s the review I wrote of the book when it came out, so you can get a feel for what I love so much about it….

In this touching, multi-layered, deceptively simple picture book, concise rhymes tell the story of a mother and two children travelling on a very long trip from what appears to be New York City. For most of the story, it isn’t clear where the family is headed or why (although if you’re paying attention, the cover image and subtitle do tip it off!), but instead the reader simply enjoys following along with the many steps they take on their journey: from a taxi ride to airport security, to walking through the airport, to riding the tram to the gate, to take off, etc.

On its face, it is a story about overnight international air travel and to that end it definitely is a great way for parents to introduce the experience to a child who has never done it before or who is nervous before a long flight. But this book offers so much more, because in the end (spoiler alert!) we find out that the family isn’t going on vacation, but instead is headed home to Japan to reconnect with their spouse/other mother, who has been serving in the Navy on a ship for presumably many months. It is, in fact, a tender love letter to separated military families everywhere. The Author’s Note gives more insight and explanation about her own experience and the inspiration for writing this book. So well done. Highly recommend!

See, I told you this one was special! And now, here’s my interview with Angela….

RGL: Welcome to Picture Book Builders, Angela!  I love this book so much and I’m thrilled to chat with you about it! From what I understand this story comes from a very personal place. Can you share a bit about the inspiration for this book?

AHD: For me Goodbye Hello is a do-over of sorts, harking back to my days as a Navy spouse and young mom. When we moved to Japan, I was five months pregnant with our second child, and my husband deployed almost immediately. He ended up being gone twice as long as expected, and then, when he was finally coming in, I found out he wouldn’t make it back to base before redeploying from Hawaii within a week. So when I realized I had a last-minute chance to fly to Guam, nearly 2000 miles away, to meet him coming into port, I jumped at it. With joy, anticipation, thrown-together luggage and requisite kid gear, my toddler and I headed to the airport. 

But complications (including an airline strike) resulted in our airplane leaving Guam for Hawaii just as my husband was coming into port there. We were literally two ships passing in the night day. Thirty-two hours, several missed phone calls, and two more airports later, we finally reunited. But our family never got another chance to watch and welcome daddy coming into port. In Goodbye, Hello I channeled that wistful regret into a happy-ending salute to all those separated by service and circumstance, most especially our young military families.

RGL: One of the things I love the most is how many layers you have going on – this book is not only an introduction to overnight international travel for kids, and about the logistics of military family life, but it’s also about a multiracial family with two moms! PLUS, it rhymes! There is a LOT going on in this book and kids will get so much from all these layers. I’d love to hear more about your writing process. Did you know from the start that you wanted to include all these layers, or did you add after you had your initial draft? Which pieces came first?

AHD: Great questions Rebecca – I had to go back and look at my first drafts to answer. The core of the story, the kid-focused international travel and military homecoming, never changed. The earliest versions were just 60 words or so (not counting art notes, ha!), mostly one-word sentences of verbs or directional adverbs, very focused on process — e.g. In. Out. In. Go. Stop. Go. Fast. Faster. I quickly realized that was a little dry for the emotional adventure in my head. So I shifted to rhyme fairly early – same journey, but much more engaging and fun to read. And write!

Then when I was researching more about Navy homecoming traditions, I came across a Reuters article from December 2011 [ https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/lesbian-couple-share-traditional-navy-first-kiss-idUSTRE7BK2A9/ ] about the first same-sex couple to share the Navy’s traditional homecoming First Kiss, just a few months after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The photo of the two women embracing made me smile and I knew that was my Goodbye, Hello family. 

I made the trip between Japan and the States several times, and 24 hours of travel with a little, and later two littles, meant I always had to be creative to keep them entertained and content. One of those ways was cataloging all our experiences in the moment – so many carts, conveyor belts, and caring helpers along the way – many more than I could include in a picture book text. Those became the lists of uniformed workers and ways to get around that Daniel so wonderfully captured on the endpapers and brought to life throughout the story. 

RGL: Of course, you know I HAVE to talk about the rhyme. I love how you pack SO much meaning into such short, deceptively simple lines (emphasis on “deceptively” because I know as well as anyone that what you’ve done here is NOT at all simple to pull off). How and why did you decide on the short lines and rhyme scheme that you did?

AHD: I’ve always been a wordplay word nerd, including when the kids were tiny, so it felt quite natural to narrate through these short, jaunty, rhythmic lines. I can’t be sure, but I’ve probably asked my kids to hustle-bustle through airports more than once. 

I often find – Rebecca, maybe you experience this too – writing within the restrictions of rhyme and rhythm provides scaffolding rather than obstacles, making the writing process more engaging and even, in a weird way, easier. And the resulting story usually has more depth, despite the economy of words. 

For me writing with rhyme and rhythm and wordplay is like working on a cheeky puzzle that’s just daring me to figure it out.

RGL: Let’s also talk about the vibrant and absolutely perfect illustrations from Daniel Wiseman. Were you able to provide feedback on the illustrations along the way? Were there any surprises or interesting stories you can share about the illustration process? 

AHD: I couldn’t be more thrilled with and honored by the dedication and artistry Daniel brought to this project. His spreads are absolutely overflowing with resonant, hilarious and captivating details which echo so much of my own travel experiences with my littles. I still discover something new each time I go through the book. And to see this family full of love and commitment centered around such a joyful, resilient main character – well, I couldn’t ask for more. 

I did see various levels of drafts and was able to give my thoughts, which were mostly cheering from the sidelines, with a few continuity points (like guidance on Navy uniform, and the fact that the bus driver sits on the ‘other’ side in Japan). In truth, Daniel’s research and renderings were more in-depth and detailed than I could have imagined.

RGL: And now, my favorite question to ask my guests: What is one question no one has yet to ask you about the making of this book that you would love to answer? (And what’s the answer?!)

AHD: “How long did this book take?” Thanks to your question about my earliest drafts, I now know and am happy to reveal that answer. Goodbye Hello was first drafted in 2015, and many, many drafts, critiques, and submissions later, sold in 2022 (and hit shelves two years after that). 

Thank you so much for joining us, Angela!

Angela has generously agreed to giveaway a copy of GOODBYE, HELLO to one lucky winner! Just comment on this post for your chance to win! The winner will be announced at the end of my next post, scheduled for Mar. 4th!

And the winner of last month’s giveaway, a signed copy of my new book, WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW *or a 30-min Ask-Me-Anything Zoom call with me is….

***Bri Lawyer!***

Congrats Bri! Please email me at [email protected] to claim your prize!

Angela’s Bio:

Angela H. Dale writes picture books for children and children at heart and also writes poems (which sometimes become books). 

Angela has one superpower – reading – and she wants to share it with everyone. As a kid she loved to bike to the library to check out books on her very own library card. In elementary school she once read 40 books in 40 days. She likes to write stories too and won second place for a story she wrote in college.

Angela worked for a literary agent in Washington, DC, and a book publisher in New York City before working on her own writing while moving around the world with her family when her husband was in the Navy.

Some of the places Angela has lived include Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Florida and Japan, and she has lots of stories she hopes to tell from those times. Her latest picture book, Goodbye, Hello: A Going Home Travel Adventure, was inspired by her adventures as a Navy spouse and new mom. Her debut picture book was inspired by a Bus Stop just down the street from her home in Maryland.

Rebecca Gardyn Levington

Rebecca Gardyn Levington is a children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (winner of the SCBWI Atlantic Division Crystal Kite Honor award), BRAINSTORM!, AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? A PASSOVER HIDE-AND-SEEK ADVENTURE, LITTLE DREIDEL LEARNS TO SPIN, and WRITE HERE, WRITE NOW, and has seven additional rhyming picture books forthcoming, including I WILL ALWAYS BE... (HarperCollins, 4/15/25), FINDING FORGIVENESS (FSG, Aug 2025), and SOME DAYS I'M THE WIND (Barefoot Books, fall 2025). Her award-winning poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, N.J., where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing Mah Jongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter where she shares tips learned throughout her writing journey at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.

12 Comments:

  1. Debra Kempf Shumaker

    This looks adorable! Such a great interview!

  2. looks like a fun one, can’t wait to read it!

  3. Thank you for sharing!

  4. Thanks for this interview, both of you. I love rhyming books! Kids do too!

  5. Wonderful interview! I’m happy to learn about this book and the story behind it. Thank you.

  6. Sheri Delgado Preston

    Thank you for sharing your story’s journey. The rhyme is so right! I love how it is short and succinct. Great picture book.

  7. Terrific interview! I love the many layers in this picture book. I look forward to reading it and sharing it with my grandkids.

  8. Congratulations! What a great story to share.

  9. Danielle Hammelef

    I love all the layers to this rhyming picture book and it will make a great read aloud and mentor text too. Such an excellent resource for parents who will be traveling with their littles too to open the conversations about what might happen along the way.

  10. I love the jaunty rhythm and fun rhyme in this story of world travel. All children will love it. I look forward to reading it in its entirety. Thanks for the fun interview.

  11. I love multi-layered books…and this one is a gem! Rhyme is so hard to do well…and such detailed illustrations. Congratulations.

  12. So much to like here – plus it sounds so read-aloud-able!

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