Once Upon a Time Not So Long Ago

by Jennifer Grant, Gillian Whiting (Illustrator)

Overview

The story of the COVID-19 pandemic and the changes it brought into our homes, schedules, and social lives, with journal pages to record your own memories.

Children and adults alike will be processing the shock, loss, and disappointment of the COVID-19 pandemic for years to come. This beautiful keepsake picture book captures the joys and sorrows of this time and the underlying message to readers is that they can make it through difficulty.

The illustrations celebrate love, family, and community as they were expressed all across the globe in a time that taught us the meaning of togetherness. It also includes journal pages to record your own memories about this unique and historic time and the effect it has had on your own life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640654037
Publisher:	Church Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

JENNIFER GRANT is the author of several books including the picture book Maybe God Is Like That Too. which won a gold medal from the Moonbeam Spirit Awards for excellence in children's literature and was named a book of the year finalist in the Foreword Indies awards. Her second picture book, Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too, was named a Junior Library Guild official gold standard selection. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Whiting’s painted tableaux, as spare as the narrative, depict a broadly diverse cast of contemporary human figures . . . ”
—Kirkus Reviews

"This beautifully illustrated picture book takes children through the story of the COVID-19 pandemic, from its early days (“a lot of people, all over the world, got sick”) to the present finally, things started getting better”) to the future (“things were different from the before-times”). Jennifer Grant doesn’t shy away from naming hard things: fear of illness, complications around shutdowns, and sadness over deaths. But she does so gently, and then she pivots to the ways we've responded to the pandemic by beginning to adapt our routines, help one another in new ways, find hope, and readjust our values. There are several journal pages at the end of the book with questions to prompt drawing, writing, and conversation."
—The Christian Century

“This book offers a powerful way for parents and children to process all that we have felt during the pandemic.”
—Matthew Paul Turner, author of When God Made You

“This book provides hope and meaning for children without glossing over the difficult facts of what happened.”
—Traci Smith, author of Prayers for Faithful Families

“Jennifer Grant’s economy of words and Gillian Whiting’s gentle, evocative illustrations combine to remind the reader that in the face of great suffering and loss, still there is hope and healing to be found.”
—Glenys Nellist, author of Snuggle Time and the Little Mole series

“Jennifer Grant encourages readers to reflect on what they’ve discovered is important as they emerge from these tough times. Illustrations by Gillian Whiting . . . portray a diversity of people and locales, reminding readers that the sickness struck across all ages, races, and locations. A beautiful book.”
—Patricia Toht, author of Dress Like a Girl

“ . . . This is a book about resilience and hope—a book about remembering. Jennifer is gentle in word and spirit - and her words, paired with the lush and evocative illustrations by Gillian Whiting, provide space for holy remembering.”
—Roger Hutchison, author of Come In, Come In!

“Thank goodness for Jennifer Grant and her truth- and hope-filled language to guide forward as we look back. A terrific resource for kids and adults alike.”
—Caryn Rivadeneira, author of the Helper Hounds series

Editorial Reviews

Whiting’s painted tableaux, as spare as the narrative, depict a broadly diverse cast of contemporary human figures . . . ”
—Kirkus Reviews

"This beautifully illustrated picture book takes children through the story of the COVID-19 pandemic, from its early days (“a lot of people, all over the world, got sick”) to the present finally, things started getting better”) to the future (“things were different from the before-times”). Jennifer Grant doesn’t shy away from naming hard things: fear of illness, complications around shutdowns, and sadness over deaths. But she does so gently, and then she pivots to the ways we've responded to the pandemic by beginning to adapt our routines, help one another in new ways, find hope, and readjust our values. There are several journal pages at the end of the book with questions to prompt drawing, writing, and conversation."
—The Christian Century

“This book offers a powerful way for parents and children to process all that we have felt during the pandemic.”
—Matthew Paul Turner, author of When God Made You

“This book provides hope and meaning for children without glossing over the difficult facts of what happened.”
—Traci Smith, author of Prayers for Faithful Families

“Jennifer Grant’s economy of words and Gillian Whiting’s gentle, evocative illustrations combine to remind the reader that in the face of great suffering and loss, still there is hope and healing to be found.”
—Glenys Nellist, author of Snuggle Time and the Little Mole series

“Jennifer Grant encourages readers to reflect on what they’ve discovered is important as they emerge from these tough times. Illustrations by Gillian Whiting . . . portray a diversity of people and locales, reminding readers that the sickness struck across all ages, races, and locations. A beautiful book.”
—Patricia Toht, author of Dress Like a Girl

“ . . . This is a book about resilience and hope—a book about remembering. Jennifer is gentle in word and spirit - and her words, paired with the lush and evocative illustrations by Gillian Whiting, provide space for holy remembering.”
—Roger Hutchison, author of Come In, Come In!

“Thank goodness for Jennifer Grant and her truth- and hope-filled language to guide forward as we look back. A terrific resource for kids and adults alike.”
—Caryn Rivadeneira, author of the Helper Hounds series

From the Publisher

2021-06-16
A (possibly premature) remembrance of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Leaving specifics to the illustrations, Grant’s spare narrative recalls a time when many people got sick, or were afraid of becoming sick, or even died—though at the same time cities became quiet enough to hear bird song, air and water became a little cleaner, people discovered new ways of being together. When better days came at last people had learned that “the most important things aren’t things at all.” Moving from darker to brighter scenes, Whiting’s painted tableaux, as spare as the narrative, depict a broadly diverse cast of contemporary human figures (most unmasked) singly or in small groups, including an interracial pair of moms with their child and a brown-skinned woman in a hijab reading to her bulldogs (“Dogs were happy because their people stayed home with them,” which will cause many readers to wonder why she is covering her hair). Underscoring the overall rearview-mirror tone, a White-presenting graybeard concludes by apparently explaining to the attentive grandchild (also White) at his knee what it was like…back then. Several decorated but largely blank sheets at the end with leading questions like “What or who did you miss most?” invite readers to add their own drawings or memories.

Reassuring, if somewhat quick off the mark. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews