Just before a family moves, their child thinks about how it’s the last time they’ll be doing a lot of things. “This is the last time I’ll fish in this river,” “the last time I’ll run through these trees,” “eat at this table,” “dream by this fire,” and so on. They say goodbye: “Goodbye, kitchen. Goodbye, bathroom. Goodbye, living room … Goodbye, old house. Goodbye.” And then, arriving at their new house, they notice all the firsts. “This is the first time I’ll push open this gate.” “This is the first time I’ll walk through this door.” They greet the rooms (“Hello, kitchen”) and end with this: “Hello, new house, hello.” The last time/first time concepts offer a refreshing change to the usual picture-book story about moving. Each observation is rooted in one small bit of reality, making the transition very matter-of-fact. The unusual artwork uses black-and-white brush-and-ink drawings created with thick strokes to show the child, who appears white, and interior scenes, while the exteriors are shown with brightly colored acrylic gouache backgrounds. (Ages 3-7)