See You Soon by Mariame Kaba

See You Soon Reviews

• 
  zara

  7 y/o and I got to read an advance copy of this book's text, and it's a beautiful yet heartbreaking glimpse of the everyday impacts of incarceration on families. I'm so glad this book exists, for children in families that are directly impacted to have their experiences reflected, but also for everyone.
• 
  Feliciana

  This is a beautiful picture book for children who may have a parent suffering the disease of addiction, and either go away, either to jail or for treatment. While keeping the language kid friendly, the book is realistic in portraying the different emotions and feeling a child may be experiencing while trying to understand the changes in her life.
  My 3.5 year old daughter repeatedly requests that this book be read to her. Although she does not yet understand addiction, she asks a lot of questions about the characters in the book, and specifically why they might be feeling sad or happy.
  
  I would recommend this book for educators teaching empathy skills, as well as families and therapists who are working with a child who has a parent in jail/treatment center for addiction.
  
• 
  David

  An uplifting story about a young girl who feels sad that her mom must spend time in jail. So she live with her grandmother, and likes to get the letter that her mom sends her expressing love.
  Kids need to know in school that their complicated family situations can be talked about. Even kids that think their own life is just fine, need to understand that not everyone lives a fairy tale existence.
  
  Colorful and good artwork. Text is written in a poem form with easy rhyming patterns. Very well done for its kid-target-audience.
  
  Tips/resources in the back to promote helping children who have incarcerated loved ones.
  
  Kudos to this book for making it onto Ted Cruz's hated book list.
• 
  Elvira

  The sweetest story of love for today: a mama and her baby loving each other through the unbearable. I love the simplicity of the story even though the topic is quite the opposite. Beautiful illustrations too!
• 
  Liz De Coster

  Big debate in our house - older kid loves it but husband is worried some of the vocabulary is to advanced, like has she ever heard the word "junkie" in a real-life context. She picked it from a library display based on the cover and I think appreciates the illustrations even if trying to describe "county jail" is not always successful. I'll be bringing a copy to the Justice impacted students book drive in January, regardless.
• 
  Christie Angleton

  Important book to add to my (very limited) text set about incarcerated family members. I really loved the illustrations, but the written text is in a very wonky cadence with lots of forced rhymes. The jarring cadence often distracted me from the content of the story.
• 
  Tonya

  Reyna is also called Queenie. Queenie’s mama is sick and is going away. Her neighbors make fun of her and say mean things about Mama because she is going to jail. Mama loves Queenie so much but she is sick and is trying to get well. Mama and Grandma love Queenie as best they can can and explain that Mama’s illnesses overcome your love sometimes. For the parents of addicts and the addicts struggling a book to help ….
• 
  Mollie Murbach

  a phenomenal children's story especially for kids with incarcerated parents but highly recommend it for all audiences. this made sob
• 
  Megan

  Beautifully written and illustrated this story is a must have for every school and library
• 
  Judy Ripke

  A wonderful book to help children understand families with an incarcerated parent. A calm and reassuring text.
• 
  Mark Robison

  I can see why some people would want to ban this book as something that's too "adult" for kids to be learning in kindergarten. It's about a little girl whose mom is a drug addict who gets sent to prison. There's so much love between the mom and the little girl that I almost think the book would be better for the parent in such situations than the child, in that it shows how you can act to minimize the trauma — although there will definitely be trauma — for your little one.
  
  Wonderful, vibrantly colored artwork.
  
  A few thoughts:
  
  * Why do I never see children's books about divorce or death being banned, even though those are things that we want to shield children from having to deal with at a young age?
  
  * Kids see some sh*t and trying to create a fake, rosy view of the world only teaches them to distrust adults.
  
  * Why do we, as a society, require people to be arrested before offering addiction services?
• 
  Jessica Ranard

  A painful and tender picture book about a young girls thoughts as her mother is being sent to jail. The daughter is wondering who will comfort her mother, where she will sleep, if there will be enough blankets. A very touching book that holds young ones who maybe don't understand what is happening to their parents/guardian/loved one when they are being sent to prison. At the end, the girl is sent a letter from her mom in which she says "see you soon" because she will be visiting her mom in jail. The last page is a picture of them, their faces together, bright and full of comfort. The illustrations were also very beautiful & especially bright, the watercolors were bold, lots of pink, purples, and gold/dark yellows. I especially loved the illustrations of the borders, and how each border matches the feeling that Queenie (the girl) must be feeling.
• 
  Beth

  Queenie must spend the next two years with her grandmother while her mother is in jail. See You Soon is a picture book that asks adult and kid readers alike to emotionally invest in a family story that often doesn't get told in the pages of a children's book. This book is a beautiful testament to the love shown in all kinds of families, particularly the ones that are often othered by those who are part of a "traditional" middle class family who frequently see their stories told in the pages of books.
  
  Pair this with Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Pena and use it as a reading ladder to Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.
• 
  Brittany

  A girl stays with her grandmother while her mother is in jail, presumably due to an offense related to addiction. The mother claims they will see each other soon, but the daughter worries they will not see each other until the mother's release.
  
  Back matter recommends readers support organizations that support children with incarcerated family members.
  
  While it is an important story, children may have difficulty inferring the plot: a classmate claims the mother takes drugs/is a junkie and the grandmother says she is "sick"; they take a bus to the jail and the protagonist asks where her mother will sleep, but very little is stated directly.
• 
  Molly

  This is a good one for a young person whose parent is dealing with substance abuse or incarceration. It does a good job of humanizing the families, and addressing how other kids can be really cruel. The rhyme scheme got a little off for me at times, but it's still worth a read.
• 
  Holly Mueller

  A heartbreaking story, but an important one. Even though Queenie's mother has to go to jail, there is so much love between the two of them. Backmatter includes "Ways to Help". Pair with Milo Imagines the World and Dad Bakes.
• 
  Andréa

  Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
• 
  Heather Kangas

  Beautiful illustrations!
• 
  Alice

  4 stars for this book that portrays a child whose mother has to go to jail and the anxiety that brings
• 
  Suzann

  This picture book about having a loved one in prison makes many important points.
• 
  rad librarian

  Beautiful artwork and a realistic story with great sources at the end. Really love the work that Mariame Kaba does. Recommended read for everyone.
• 
  Catherine Van

  all of the illustrations are so beautiful, and the story is heart breakingly honest.