SaskBooks Review: I will always love you…no matter what!

Written by Lee Murray and Kori Upshall
Illustrated by Emily Johnson
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Michelle Shaw

Children love asking questions and even a seemingly simple question can hide layers of emotion. This colorful soft-covered book is written by a grandmother and her granddaughter and is based on a true experience. A few years ago, four-year-old Kori was on a quest to find out how much her grandmother loved her. She kept asking her grandmother continually outlandish questions to try to find something – anything --that would make her grandmother stop loving her.

The scenarios in the book are gloriously over-the-top. The little girl broke her grandmother’s mirror, for instance, by crashing a plane into it, and she broke her grandmother’s dishes by ripping off the table cloth while her grandmother was having tea with the queen.

The book is beautifully and hilariously illustrated by Saskatoon-based visual artist Emily Johnson. I loved the fact that the little girl’s dog (apparently based on Kori’s real-life dog Bryson) also makes an appearance in each scenario…playing the piano and driving the plane. Johnson has captured lots of humorous moments like these that will provide the opportunity for many tangential discussions.

The book’s repeated questions (“but what if I broke”… and “but I will still love you”) quickly move the story forward and made me eager to turn the pages. The rhyming words (“frustrated and exasperated”/”horrified and mortified”) and alliteration (“shocked and stunned”/”disappointed and dismayed”) also set up a familiar rhythm and make the book easy to read and remember which is especially helpful for early readers.

Grandmothers, this is definitely a book to add to your collection of stories.

The book was written by Dr. Lee Murray, an associate professor at the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan, along with her nine-year-old granddaughter Kori Upshall.

Emily Johnson is a first-time children’s book illustrator. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the University of Saskatchewan in 2020 and has a wide range of experience in various artistic mediums.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM

SaskBooks is grateful for support from: Creative Saskatchewan, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada Book Fund from the Department of Canadian Heritage, SaskCulture, Access Copyright Foundation, Tourism Saskatchewan, Friesen’s Book Division, and bibliophiles everywhere.