See You Someday Soon

PreS-Gr 2–There have been a spate of long-distance grandparent books this year, but it will be hard to find one more visually charming than this one. With die-cut holes, and constant patter of reassuring monologue, the young narrator explains why he or she cannot be with the grandmother now but how “See you someday soon” are watch words. Until the end of the book, they are never occupying the same space but never more than a few pages and a peephole away. It’s not just space and distance that separate them, but time—the parents have jobs and a lot going on, and the grandparent or relative that is so far away has a life, too, of cats, and flowers, procured or maybe gardened, and making dinner. The pacing of the journey—there is a hug at the end—is so quiet and steady, like the beating of a hopeful heart about to get its dearest wish. This book will win over readers at both ends of the age range with the promise of the title and the narrator’s clear-eyed belief that “soon” is not a movable post. This will happen.