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Willow Heath

Willow Heath is a visual artist, illustrator, storyteller, creative crafter, and art instructor. Her debut picture book, Lasting Love (written by Caroline Wright) was published in 2019. In addition to her own illustrating and writing, she teaches illustration and painting in schools. Willow lives in Seattle with her husband and son.

Agent

Katelyn Detweiler

Lasting Love

This gorgeous picture-book meditation on loss and family love is a useful tool for children navigating a first experience with death.

When a family member or another loved one becomes ill, one of the scariest aspects of their sickness is the way they may change, both physically and in spirit. The feeling of loss can come so early as the person becomes more difficult to recognize. It’s a hard thing for anyone to understand, and especially so for a child. This book offers a helpful visualization of a sick person’s essence as a friendly creature who remains strong and warm, even as the illness progresses. The creature is always around and never tries to cheer the child up, but only serves to keep them company.

Caroline Wright and Willow Heath clearly understand that, like the creature, a book cannot “fix” a painful situation or even make it a little better. Instead they simply reflect the pain of loss back to the reader and help them understand that they are not alone.

Praise for Lasting Love

“Aside from the creature, Heath’s small, gentle drawings are mostly black and white except when the creature’s colors flow onto other beings and objects. Copious white space surrounds the illustrations, showing that nothing matters here except loving Mama, losing her, and finding beauty again afterward. Child, Mama, and the remaining parent all have pale skin. Enigmatic—but warm and almost oddly optimistic.” –Kirkus

Publisher

Rodale Kids

Publication Date

August 20, 2019

Age Category

Picture Book

Genre

Realism/Family

Rights

JGLM