I Wish I Could Tell You - excerpt

I Wish I Could Tell You

Jean-François Sénéchal Chiaki Okada

I Wish I Could Tell You

Translation by Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy

Editorial and art direction by Nadine Robert

Book design by Jolin Masson

Proof reading by Morgan Cummins

This edition published in 2023 by Milky Way Picture Books, an imprint of Comme des géants inc. Varennes, Quebec, Canada.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written consent of the publisher or a license

The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Library and Archives Canada cataloguing in publication

Title: I wish I could tell you / Jean-François Sénéchal; illustrations, Chiaki Okada; translation, Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy

Other titles: Je voudrais te dire. English

Names: Sénéchal, Jean-François, 1976- author. | Okada, Chiaki, illustrator. | Frost, Nick, translator. | Ostiguy, Catherine, translator.

Description: Translation of: Je voudrais te dire.

Identifiers: Canadiana 20230051499 | ISBN 9781990252242 (hardcover)

Classification: LCC PS8637.E5226 J413 2023 | DDC jC843/.6—dc23

ISBN : 978-1-990252-24-2

Printed and bound in China

Milky Way Picture Books

38 Sainte-Anne Street

Varennes, QC J3X 1R5 Canada

www.milkywaypicturebooks.com

We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada.

We gratefully acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada.

To my grandma. I, too, wish I could’ve told you… – J.-F. S.

To my two granddaughters, Nana and Suzu, whose adorable smiles fill me with joy. And to my husband, Koh, for all his support. With all my gratitude, this book is for them.

– C. O.

Jean-François Sénéchal Chiaki Okada

I Wish I Could Tell You

This morning, I’m writing you a letter.

Above the clearing, the sun is shy.

The forest is still. The birds are silent. I wish I could tell you…

But I can’t find the right words.

Like when I went to your house, Grandma. You were so tired. Distant.

I said nothing. Not a word.

It wasn’t you in that bed. So small, so frail. Yet there was your scent. Your big hat hanging on the wall.

Your walking stick near the door.

Your finest quills lying on the table.

Your treasures in their big chest.

All of a sudden, my mind is flooded with memories.

Together, we made magic.

We climbed to the top of the world.

End of browsing...

This morning, I’m writing you a letter. Above the clearing, the sun is shy. The forest is still. The birds are silent. I wish I could tell you…

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

ISBN 978-1-990252-24-2 U.S. $18.99 Can. $23.99 51899

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

I Wish I Could Tell You - excerpt

Published on Mar 7, 2023

commedesgeants

I WISH I COULD TELL YOU Publication date: August 2023 Text: Jean-François Sénéchal Illustrations: Chiaki Okada Prices: $19.99 USD, $24.95 CAD Page count: 42 pages Format: Hardcover ISBN: 9781990252242 Dimensions: 8.2” x 11.4” 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. 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.