In Rebecca Gardyn Levington‘s picture book I WISH THAT YOU KNEW (Little Bee Books, 2026), illustrated by Alyssa Russell, the connection between a child and her grandmother is lovingly shared as the family prepares for the grandmother’s unveiling. Although it’s not an easy topic for a picture book, the gentle rhyme, soft illustrations, and sweet memories of the child make this an appropriate selection for even the youngest reader. Children experience loss, and the right book at the right time can provide comfort and healing. I’m so happy to learn more about this meaningful book. Welcome back, Rebecca.

Can you tell me a bit about what inspired you to write about the unveiling ceremony?

Thank you so much for having me again on the blog, Barbara!

The primary inspiration for this book was my Grandma Charlotte, my Gram. She was just 46 years old when I was born, so I had her in my life for almost 40 years and she was truly my best friend. So much of who I am is a result of my relationship with her.  In 2023, around the 10-year anniversary of her death, I was thinking about how much has happened in my life since she died. She never got to see my two sons grow up or see me reinvent myself as a children’s book author and poet. She never got to read any of my books.

And so, I did what I do when I need help grappling with my strong emotions. I wrote a poem. I never initially intended this poem to become anything other than a way for me to process my grief, but as I continued to write and revise, I felt like there was a more universal story coming through me that might help others cope with their own losses.

But when I did a search for comp titles, I found so many beautiful books on grief already, and put the manuscript away, thinking it wasn’t special enough. Then, after attending a friend’s father’s funeral, I started to think about some of the Jewish traditions we participate in when someone dies. Since the book is about a child reminiscing about all the moments her grandmother had missed, it occurred to me that it would make sense to have the story take place a year after the grandmother’s passing, at her unveiling ceremony. I thought maybe the incorporation of this tradition could give my story the angle it needed to stand out in the market.

As it turned out, when my editor expressed interest in the book, she actually said: “I’ve been looking for an unveiling book” which shocked me (in the best way, of course!) So obviously, this book found its exact right home with the exact right editor at the exact right time. I’m very fortunate.

What challenges did you face writing about a serious topic and keeping it child-friendly?

As I mentioned, this manuscript started as an ode to my own grandmother, so my initial draft was pretty melancholy and sentimental, so I think the biggest challenge was figuring out a way to turn this poem into a story that would resonate with kids, rather than a personal lament.

Thankfully, I had an incredible editor, Jaime Gelman, at Little Bee, who helped me do this. She asked me to revise with two pieces of feedback in mind.  First, she asked me to step back emotionally, to separate myself from the protagonist, so that we could “center the joy of the relationship, instead of just the sadness of her being gone.” This was super helpful because I began to think of the child in my story as separate from myself and that freed me to create more scenes that included joy and humor, making the book more child-friendly.

Second, in the initial draft, I had included the unveiling ceremony simply as a backdrop. But Jaime, brilliantly, asked me: “HOW specifically does the unveiling ritual help the character process her grief?” She wanted me to include more of the details of the unveiling ceremony and address how participating in this specific ritual helps the childbegin to heal from her grief. While I’d attended several unveilings, I’d never stopped to think through why the ritual exists. One of the reasons I uncovered in my research is that it offers us time to get used to life without our loved one before we make the goodbye more permanent with a grave marker. With this in mind, I revised so the child is both missing her grandmother while also recognizing that the passage of time has been a gift that has given her distance from her loss, so NOW (a year later) she is finally ready to start moving forward. As she says: “It’s time to let go of some of the sad/and celebrate moments of joy that we had.” This, too, made the topic more child-friendly by offering a more hopeful ending in which the character feels she has permission to simultaneously miss her grandmother and to feel immense gratitude for having had her in her life.

Why do you think it’s important to introduce death and dying rituals to young readers?

I feel like it is important to talk with children about ALL their feelings and encourage them to be open about whatever they feel. In fact, the majority of my books tend to be about giving kids permission to express emotion, whether it be regret (Finding Forgiveness), worry (Whatever Comes Tomorrow), frustration (Little Dreidel Learns To Spin), or the full gamut (Some Days I’m The Wind). 

When someone dies, particularly if it is a close relative or friend, any child (much like any adult), will naturally feel so many emotions, from loss and sadness to confusion, shock, and even anger. But unlike an adult, who may have have lived through a death previously, a child typically doesn’t have the same amount of experience managing such feelings. When adults refuse to talk to kids about a death or dying because it isn’t “appropriate,” it sends a message to kids that they too should hide their feelings or that it is somehow “bad” to express them.

Books like I Wish That You Knew can make discussions around death more comfortable for both the child and adult by offering some distance from the emotions. Talking about how the characters are feeling allows kids to feel that it is ok to also feel those feelings too, and helps them see that they aren’t alone.

I think books that introduce specific mourning rituals help kids learn that their religious customs and community can also support them as they process through difficult feelings.

What were your thoughts when you saw the illustrations by Alyssa Russell?

Alyssa’s art truly takes my breath away. Even in the original sketches, I could tell she knew just how to bring this story to life in the exact right way. I think her art helps make the story more accessible and child-friendly, bringing a bit of levity to the somber topic with sneaky bits of humor. For instance, her addition of a dog with his silly antics throughout, including a scene where he’s wearing sunglasses (so cute!), was so brilliant. Once I saw the color spreads, though, I was a puddle of tears. I don’t think Alyssa knew at the time, but purple is my favorite color, so the palette is everything I would have ever hoped for. I seriously want to frame every page. 

One interesting tidbit is that Alyssa’s original character sketch for the grandmother was a somewhat typical “sweet little old grandma” type. I liked her, but my Grandma Charlotte was anything but typical. She was super hip and energetic. She never knit anything in her life and loved a good party. In fact, she went to Zumba class the morning of the day she died. I also thought about my step-mother, Jackie, who died the same year and to whom I also dedicated this book, who was always dressed to the nines with all kinds of sparkly jewelry and never left the house without her hair and make-up perfectly done. So, I asked if we might look at a few alternatives for this character, and Alyssa came back with the perfect hip, fun grandma. I love her.

Do you have a favorite illustration? 

The entire book is so gorgeous, but my favorite spread is the one toward the end that shows the grandmother and child walking hand in hand toward the grave marker where the girl is about to place a stone that she’s decorated. As they get closer and closer to the headstone, grandma’s image becomes more transparent, signaling that she is no longer of this world. The text reads:

But…

I want you to know,

I keep you with me.

Your love has helped shape

who I am and will be.

This stanza has been there from the very first draft. It is the core of what I wanted to express to my Grandma Charlotte. That she is always with me, and that her support and wisdom and advice and caring and tough love have all shaped me into the person I am, and will influence me as I move forward into the rest of my life. Seeing Alyssa’s beautiful art combined with my words on this spread makes me cry every time.

As a poet, can you share what your process looks like? For example, do you start with an idea and go straight to working on rhyme or do you have a fully developed story first?

I am very much a pantser, with zero idea about where I’m headed when I sit down to write. And I write in rhyme from the get go, which means that I end up killing a lot of darlings as the story takes shape and I realize that some stanzas aren’t serving the narrative. I really wish I could come up with a fully developed story first. It would make things much more efficient, but sadly, it’s just not how I work.

I have a fear of the blank page, and writing a first draft is by far the hardest part for me. So, a lot of times when I sit down, I promise myself: “I’m just going to write a poem,” which feels less daunting than “I’m going to write a manuscript.” Most, if not all of my books have started this way, as a poem (often about some emotion I’m grappling with or that my children have been grappling with) that I look back upon later, only to realize I still have more to say.

Thank you, Rebecca!

Rebecca Gardyn Levington is an award-winning children’s book author, poet, and journalist with a particular penchant for penning both playful and poignant picture books and poems – primarily in rhyme. She is the author of 18 books for children, including FINDING FORGIVENESS (a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable and PJ Library selection), WHATEVER COMES TOMORROW (a SCBWI Crystal Kite Honor winner and Northern Lights Book Award winner, which has been translated into 11 languages), AFIKOMAN, WHERE’D YOU GO? A Passover Hide-And-Seek Adventure (a PJ Library selection which was named one of the best holiday books of the year by both School Library Journal and the Association of Jewish Libraries), SOME DAYS I’M THE WIND (a 2026 Children’s Book Council Librarian Favorite and a 2026 Children’s Literature Assembly Notable), and BRAINSTORM! (a Pennsylvania Readers’ Choice Award winner). Rebecca’s poems and articles have appeared in numerous anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. She lives with her family in Summit, NJ, where she enjoys bouncing on a mini-trampoline, playing Mah Jongg, and eating chocolate-peanut butter ice cream (although not usually at the same time!). Find out more and sign up for Rebecca’s monthly newsletter at www.RebeccaGardynLevington.com.

Tagged Little Bee Books, picture book, Rebecca Gardyn Levington