From the award-winning creator of the hugely popular When You Can Swim, Jack Wong delivers a tender, visually stunning picture book about change, family, and saying goodbye.
Inspired by Jack's own childhood move from Hong Kong to Canada, Goodbye, Koi is a heartfelt exploration of what it means to face change and hold onto memories.
When a young boy learns that his family must leave behind their home -- and the koi fish he has always cared for -- his world fills with questions. What will happen to the fish? Will they be safe, happy, and cared for in their new home? Through his wonder and worry, readers glimpse the universal feelings that come with any life transition: curiosity, uncertainty, and the hope that those we love will be okay.
Lushly illustrated in the tradition of Chinese brush painting, the art itself tells part of the story -- shifting styles to capture both the practical tasks of preparing for a move and the dreamlike, swirling koi that represent the boy's thoughts. This layered visual storytelling invites children to notice cultural details, interpret emotions, and connect their own experiences of change to the boy's.
Goodbye, Koi will resonate with any reader who has ever had to say farewell -- whether to a pet, a place, or a way of life. Jack Wong was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His acclaimed picture book When You Can Swim, published by Scholastic, has won the Governor General's Award for Illustration, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. He is also the creator of the picture books All That Grows and The Words We Share. Jack lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
