I'll Love You from Afar

by Racha Mourtada, Sasha Haddad (Illustrator)

Overview

An imaginative girl shares some of the wonderful ways she can still show her love to friends and family far, far away. This moving, hopeful picture book is perfect for fans of While We Can’t Hug and Outside, Inside.

Inspired by the universal feelings of loss and loneliness that came when the pandemic forced people to stay inside and far apart, Racha Mourtada wrote a reassuring poem about connection and the endurance of love that will appeal to readers of all ages. This gorgeous picture book is a tribute to all the hugs and moments we haven’t been able to share with each other.

In tender and lyrical rhyming text perfect for reading aloud intimately or in a group, the little girl thinks of creative and wondrous ways to support and reach her loved ones from afar. Positive and encouraging, these ideas will make any reader feel more hopeful about the future.

With an adorable cast of kids from all around the world, I'll Love You from Afar is a universal message about how we can express love for one another. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063138889
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/07/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,051,343
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Racha Mourtada was inspired to write I’ll Love You from Afar because of all of the hugs and affection that were missed out on during the world-wide pandemic. The founder and publisher of Luqoom, a boutique publishing house for Arabic and English children's books, she is the author of Swingers, Clingers and Other Amazing Animals in Motion and a collection of flash fiction called 55 Slightly Sinister Stories. Wherever life takes her, Beirut is always home. 

Sasha Haddad is a Lebanese illustrator who has been working professionally since she graduated from the Cambridge School of Arts in 2014. The illustrator of more than fifteen picture books for children, Sasha left her beloved Beirut and now lives in Greece.

Editorial Reviews

Ideal for those inevitable times when friends and loved ones are far away. This rhyming text sends an optimistic message of patient and enduring love. Befitting the universal theme, different children and situations are depicted with each stanza." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2021-07-14
Ideal for those inevitable times when friends and loved ones are far away.

Beginning with an illustration of a child atop a lighthouse searching the seas through a spyglass and ending with the lighthouse’s beacon of love shining out into the night, this rhyming text sends an optimistic message of patient and enduring love. “Sorry I can’t see you. / You’re oh so far away! / But don’t you worry, / I’m in no hurry, / My love is here to stay.” Befitting the universal theme, different children and situations are depicted with each stanza, with no clearly identified speaker or recipient maintained consistently throughout. The sentiment is voiced from the shore, the playground, the city. Wherever the speaker is—the depths of the ocean, the limits of space, the isolation of one of the poles (alas, an inaccurate illustration pairs an igloo and a penguin, with a White child depicted in Arctic Native furs)—they will miss their loved one. The illustrations, done in an appropriately calm palette, show a wide range of racial and gender presentations as the scenes change. To a troubled friend across the alley, a kid in a wheelchair offers, “You can blow all your troubles / Into some bubbles, / And I’ll pop them at no extra charge.” The timing suggests yet another Covid-19 picture-book response, but the sentiment is evergreen. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A loving missive for anyone missing friends and family. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews