“Think of it this way,” Grandpa says. “Today, you and I are like two fish swimming together in this lake. When I die, things will be different. I won’t be a fish anymore, but I’ll become something even better. My love will be like the water in the lake. You might think I’m not with you, but we’ll be closer than ever because you’ll be surrounded by my love.” Long after Grandpa dies, Joshua comes to understand that Grandpa kept his promise—and that love and its memory survive death. When grown-up Joshua goes fishing with his daughter, he teaches her what Grandpa taught him: “She knows we never have to feel alone or afraid because we are surrounded by a love that lasts forever.”
“Each memory is like a special gift I can unwrap again and again,” said Grandpa. “And that’s a gift I want to give you, too.”
Nicole Wong was raised by a designer/painter dad and a fashion illustrator mom and never thought of becoming anything except an illustrator. She has illustrated twenty-five children’s books with collage, egg tempera, oils, watercolor, ink, and other media, including Three Lost Seeds (Tilbury House, 2019) and I’ll Be the Water (Tilbury House, 2020). Her illustrations for Kiyoshi’s Walk (Lee and Low, 2021) earned starred reviews from Kirkus (“captivating”) and SLJ (“wonderful”).