I Wish I Could Tell You

Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3

A touching, poetic tale that wrestles with the complex emotions we feel when we lose someone close to us

Losing someone you love, someone close to you, can be difficult to talk about. But, sometimes, writing a letter can help you find the words you wish you could say. That’s exactly what a young fox realizes one morning after learning about the death of his beloved grandmother, someone with whom he shared so many special memories. As he longingly searches for any trace of her presence in all their familiar haunts, the young fox soon discovers that only by embracing his grief will the right words—the words he wishes he could say to grandmother—come to him.

About the Author

Jean-Francois Sénéchal was born among books. After studying anthropology, he returned to his first love, devoting himself to literature. He is a well-decorated author: the winner of the 2017 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize in Literature from the Canada Council for the Arts, a 2019 Prix jeunesse des libraires du Québec, and a 2021 Governor General’s Award, for which he was also a finalist in 2019. Sénéchal was also named to the 2018 Honour List of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Chiaki Okada is an illustrator and author of children’s books from Osaka. Her gentle, calming artwork was selected at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2010 and she has since illustrated books by authors from around the world. Her first picture book published in English, For All the Stars Across the Sky, (Walker Books) was released in 2019. She currently lives in Japan.