"No one should wait for a child to experience loss before sharing this wise, gentle book." — Kirkus Reviews Letting go and loss can be difficult to comprehend. Goodbye, Balloon will help you understand these emotions and give you insights to deal with them. Where does a special balloon go when it slips out of your hands? You can’t stop it, but you can wish it a beautiful journey, gliding past birds and soaring over mountains. Maybe your balloon will fly to someone else so that they can have a happy day. A beautifully illustrated picture book about learning to let go. For children ages 5 years and up. Part of the Healthy Minds series, where Adam Ciccio examines daily obstacles and the mental health of young children. Through a familiar story and helpful tips, which the author draws from his own experiences as an outpatient mental health practitioner, children and adults gain insight into what goes on in young minds and are given tools to help them cope with difficult situations. When a child’s beloved balloon is whipped away by a gust of wind, the youngster reveals an intriguing coping mechanism. In this tale translated from Dutch, the light-skinned, brown-haired narrator, who is barefoot and wears a simple ochre tunic, declares that the balloon makes them happy—it even feels magical. So readers understand the child’s feelings when the pale, reddish balloon—formerly tied to the child’s bicycle—sails out of reach. After shouting goodbye and wishing the balloon a “fantastic adventure,” the child closes their eyes and imagines themself soaring with the balloon, so high that “the kites must be jealous.” In a series of whimsical scenes, child and balloon travel over mountains and a lake, through a desert, and into outer space. Especially exhilarating: a moment when the youngster flies with pink flamingos. When menacing weather arises, the child says, “My balloon and I are brave. Flying out of the darkness I feel proud.” The captivating watercolor and colored pencil artwork—even more interesting because the textured paper shows beneath—brings the protagonist’s fantasies to life. The careful wording and lovely ending—in which the narrator pictures the balloon finding a new friend, a brown-skinned girl—evoke the best of guided imagery meditation and will speak to young readers coping with sorrow. No one should wait for a child to experience loss before sharing this wise, gentle book. Well-played grief counseling. ― Kirkus Reviews A young girl ties her glittery pink balloon to her bicycle, but it is quickly taken by the wind. Instead of that being the end of the story, however, she begins to think of what adventures her balloon might be experiencing, and to demonstrate the balloon's change, from then on it is drawn as a clear, somewhat ethereal outline. In her imagination, the girl and balloon ride the wind into the mountains and then even up to the stars beyond. When a storm brings darkness, bravery sees them through. While the book is not subtle in its messaging, its gentle tone and soft colors extend the feeling of comfort. Phrases such as “enjoying every possible moment” and “follow our hearts to find the right direction” underscore the book’s bibliotherapeutic purpose. Eventually, the girl knows she must let go of the balloon, but she likes to think of it as happy and having a new friend to love. For young children coping with loss or grief, the book provides an opening for discussion. ― Booklist Clavis Adam Ciccio was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He moved to Savannah, Georgia, at the age of twelve and attended St. Andrew’s Preparatory School in Wilmington Island, Georgia. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH) in 2006 and with a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling at Salem State University (Salem, MA) in 2012. Adam owns eight mental health practices that serve both children and adults in Eastern Massachusetts. In addition to his role as President and Owner of Ciccio Counseling Centers, he teaches graduate school in the Mental Health Counseling Department at his alma mater, Salem State University. Adam Ciccio is the author of 18 children’s books, many of his stories themed around cognitive wellness and self-confidence during social-emotional developmental stages. Margriet van der Berg has been drawing since she could first hold a pencil. She grew up in a small village in the Netherlands and left home at age eighteen to study textile design at the Amsterdam Fashion Academy. After working for several years, she decided to study at the Art Academy. There, her love for painting with watercolors was born. Since then, Margriet has developed into an illustrator. She sells greeting cards and art prints, and since 2020, she has also illustrated children’s books. Her first book for Clavis Publishing was When the Whales Came by Phebe Rasch.