SEE YOU SOMEDAY SOON

A touching depiction of love across the miles between a grandmother and a grandchild.

Miller’s first-person text shares the voice of a child longing for their grandmother, who lives far away. Since they don’t know when they’ll see each other again, they keep in touch via phone calls, video chats, and letters, with the child imagining playful, fantastical ways they might see each other “someday soon.” The child even imagines being folded up in an envelope, à la Flat Stanley, to be sent in the mail to their grandmother. The titular refrain is repeated throughout the book, voicing a steady hope despite the uncertain timing of a resolution. Lee’s illustrations match the childlike tone of the text, adopting a sketchy, loose, cartoonlike aesthetic, and while drawings are largely made up of figures rendered in black, changing background colors, intraiconic text indicating dialogue, and highlights of color add expressive dimension and visual interest. An added die-cut element enhances the art’s play with the concept of seeing someone by offering glimpses of characters’ faces between pages. A satisfying resolution arrives to close the book, offering solace to those who have endured long separations from loved ones due to the pandemic and also to anyone whose loved ones live far away. Characters’ skin tones vary depending on the color of the page. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pick up this title someday soon.