I'LL ALWAYS CLAP FOR YOU
by T Lynn , illustrated by Marty Petersen
In this picture book, an older woman reminds her friends of the adventurous life she led and that she will always be with them in spirit.
A white grandma type in glasses asks her unusual friends (a llama, chimpanzee, parrot, and little green alien) to listen to her love with their hearts after her passing. She tells them to remember that “I never needed cheering / because I always knew / that you’d always clap for me / and I’d always clap for you.” The woman cheerfully recounts in rhyme how this caring mantra helped during past mishaps as she captained a leaky boat, fell while swinging on vines through the jungle, tripped during a twirl on stage, and more. Lynn—the co-author of The Gift of Haley (2017), writing as Terri Bené—presents this easygoing mix of solace and gentle humor to children coping with loss as a way to feel that “those who have left this world are only a mind-call away.” The word “death” is not used; the woman, wearing a spacesuit, simply “launched into the stars.” She is then back in a sweater and glasses and part of the bright stars. This child-accessible approach is reflected in the book’s glossy pages; colorful, cartoon-style illustrations by Petersen (The Gift of Haley, 2017, etc.); large typeface; and sense of tenderness in both text and images.
An upbeat tale that offers children a comforting way to process the loss of a loved one.