The Goodbye Chair

The Goodbye Chair is a heart warming family picture book written by Josephine Carson-Barr.

In this gorgeous story, a young kiwi lad is dropped off at pre-school by his Nannie and surprises her by saying ‘goodbye’ in the three official languages of New Zealand, Te Reo Maori, NZSL (New Zealand sign language), and English.

The illustrations are fantastic. They are beautifully detailed and full of energy. The super-talented artist is in fact Jo’s son Simon Barr.

“With his trademark quirky style and unique interpretation of the characters, [Simon] brings stories to life. Books with Simon's illustrations are delighting young readers from New York all the way to New Zealand.”

- Excerpt from Macmillan Springboard

series ‘Professor Dinglebat’

Jo’s other books include Talking to Nannie (which has been translated into Samoan and also NZSL in a digital format) and her latest work Waata The Weta: Can He Find The Perfect Home?

Jo has enjoyed working with people with varying disabilities, inspiring her aim to create more stories featuring different and diverse characters.