IF YOU WERE HERE

A child mourns while taking in the marvels of the forest and ocean.

“I wish you were here,” begins this tender story. “Together we’d smell the damp mushrooms and moss deep inside these woods.” Narrated by a child with light brown skin and chestnut hair, the tale winds through a shining meadow, a temperate rainforest, and a pebbly shoreline. Stinson focuses on the young protagonist’s sensory experiences of the land and water all around, encouraging mindfulness and connection to the present moment: tasting “the ocean salt in the breeze,” seeing “the light poking through the clouds,” hearing “pebbles saying clickety-clack,” and feeling “the tickle of the sea-foam swish up between our toes.” Teeming with the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest, where illustrator McKibbin (Ojibwe) lives, the vivid, full-bleed digital images bring life to a text filled with heartache and reverence for nature. Stinson’s narrator doesn’t go into detail about the missing loved one, allowing readers to see their own experiences reflected in the story; this could be a tale about someone who’s moved away, died, or is otherwise no longer a part of everyday life. Radiant images and a spacious narrative provide adults with an uplifting space to discuss heavy emotions with young ones.

A glowing window into grieving that makes room for sorrow and joy to coexist.