I Wish I Could Tell You
Jean-François Sénéchal Chiaki Okada
Jean-François Sénéchal Chiaki Okada
I Wish I Could Tell You
I Wish I Could Tell You
Text copyright © 2023 Jean-François Sénéchal
Illustration copyright © 2023 Chiaki Okada
Copyright © Milky Way Picture Books
All rights reserved.
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.
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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