I’ll Be with You Wherever You Are

A child asks what will happen after his father dies and receives a transcendent, comforting answer in Finn’s picture book.

At bedtime, a youngster asks, “Daddy, will you live forever?” His father promises to take care of his health, so that he can be present, in person, with the child as long as possible. He acknowledges, though, that “there will be a day when it seems like I’m not around. / But all you have to do is look, and I’ll be found.” Comparing his future presence to a game of hide and seek, the father suggests that he’ll be anywhere the child is: as a star at night, or the sun during the day, or the path that leads the child onward. Artists Prajogo and Bastian beautifully depict the father and child in various picturesque locations, leaning toward outdoor nature scenes. The faces, especially the child’s, are round and sweet, with large, expressive eyes. Although the illustrations are generally realistic in style, they’re also full of whimsy, as when the child imagines hang gliding, evoking earlier images of a butterfly and cardinal. Finn’s rhyming couplets are strong, with stretch words (tethered, essential) that make this book a good one for youngsters and parents to experience together—echoing the book’s overarching message.

A comforting characterization of eternity with luminescent, detailed images.