IGUANA MISS YOU!

The bard of board books recognizes the pain of separation.

Gripping a paintbrush in its downturned mouth, a green lizard looks unhappy right from the start. “You’re going away. It’s sad, but it’s true. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do.” The reptile considers putting on a brave face or making flip comments: “Later, Alligator! Mañana, Iguana!” But our hero’s sadness is too profound and persistent for pretense. Riding the natural ups and downs of emotion, the lizard will “think of your sweet smile,” hope you’re doing very well, and “sit and sigh a while.” Memories of long walks and talks bring pleasure, but inevitably, “Iguana miss… EVERYTHING!” The narrator generously tries to be happy for its friend’s new adventures—opportunities to learn and even make new pals—knowing that, “clever and steady,” you will land on “your own two (or four!) feet.” But the protagonist, joined by four more lizards and a moose, can’t deny, “Iguana miss you” (or “Moose you”). The art has all the Boynton brio, with cameos by familiar friends like a pig, a duck, a hamster, and guitar-playing chickens. Boynton never downplays the feeling of loss but balances it with the pastel lizards, a warm palette, gentle humor and rhymes, and recognition of the departing friend’s own potential uncertainties. It’s not just the smallest who will find wry consolation in the sentiments here.

Sweet and truly heartfelt, sure to bolster anyone confronting a sad goodbye.