Description
Emily woke. On her night table, a letter was propped against her grandfather's picture. Her name was printed in pencil crayon the way only her grandfather did it, with each letter a different colour.
He was always so kind and funny and silly...and now he was gone.
Carefully, she picked up the envelope and opened it....
A heartfelt new picture book from bestselling children's author Eric Walters (From the Heart of Africa) and Halifax-based artist Carloe Liu. In this poignant story, we follow young Emily who has recently lost her grandfather. As she grows, she discovers a series of letters he left behind for her, offering grandfatherly advice at life's most pivotal moments: first day of high school, graduation day, wedding, and ending with the birth of her own child.
With gentle watercolours and fold-out letters for sharing with loved ones, Always With You is a timeless story about grief, growing up, and finding that those we love never truly leave us.
Author Bio
Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 130 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over one hundred thousand students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.
Review Quotes
"Like Munsch's Love You Forever, Always with You is more likely to appeal to the adult readers who are sharing the book with children than it will the young listeners who have yet to experience the life events the book references. However, children will still be engaged by the opportunities to lift the "envelope" flaps that cover the letters' contents, thereby revealing what Emily's grandfather had written to her.
In an opening "A Note from the Author", Walters shares the happening which led to the creation of Always with You and concludes by saying, "I hope that as you read this book, you remember someone you love and all the ways they are still with you." I suspect that a number of parents and grandparents will be prompted to follow Emily's grandfather's example and will actually prepare their own series of letters and gifts." —Canadian Reviews of Materials (Winnipeg, MB)
Biographical note
Carloe (Shan) Liu is an illustrator, printmaker, and art teacher. She was born in China, studied media arts in Japan, and has a masters degree in Fine Arts. In 2018 Carloe immigrated to Canada. After working as a graphic designer for years, she gave birth to her son, Lufei, and started focusing on illustration. She likes to use watercolour, oil pastel, coloured pencil, and linocut print. Carloe lives in Halifax with her family.
