A gentle and winning book that shows a mother sort her son's separation anxiety out when it comes to him going to school for the first time. She tells him to feel for his heartbeat, and that will be a signal from her to him that she loves him. OK, so the kid is being played – but it's being done for the best reasons and in quite the charming way. Lovely pastel kind of colours make these pages look as warm as they read, and it could easily be a most welcome success. Four and a half stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Familius for giving me an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a cute book about a boy who is scared to go to to school for the first time and his mom reassures him telling him whenever he feels scared he should put his hand to his heart and his mom will do the same to hers. This will teach kids that school isn’t as scary as they may think and you might even miss it over the weekends. This is such an amazing book!

Such a sweet story! I wish I had this book when my son was starting school. This is a great story, but also a great lesson I coping with scary situations. The story also does a great job of showing kids things get better over time. Even though my little guy is a bit older now I will still read him this book to remind him hope to cope to scary or new situations. The artwork is beautiful and really adds to the ambiance of the story.

What a terrific idea to ease child and mother when starting a new thing away from home and apart from each other that has many new people. Strengthening their connection simply and without fanfare becomes a gift to each of them.
The illustrations by Lilia Miceli are simple, delightful, and colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital proof on Thorium PDF from Familius via NetGalley. Avail Aug 05, 2025 *****review
#WhatWillIDoIfIMissYou by @melissatshultzwrites and @lilia.miceli_art @FamiliusBooks #NetGalley @Barnesandnoble #waterstones ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #childrensbookcouncil #Illustrated @the.storygraph #goodreads #bookbub #librarythingofficial #kobo #kidlit #separationanxiety #startingschool #comfortingroutine

What Will I Do if I Miss You? is a beautiful story about beginning school and being away from your family. In this book, the mother provides her child with a subtle action he can do when he misses his mom. Such a simple, yet powerful. act especially for children. This would be a great book to recommend to parents whose children are having some difficulties with transitioning away from home and can be used for multiple age groups.

Thank you NetGalley, Familius and Melissa T. Shultz for an ARC copy of What Will I Do if I Miss you?

This story is so super sweet! And it offers an actually useful coping mechanism for any little ones who may be suffering with separation anxiety. Something both of my children seriously experienced when beginning preschool in fresh post COVID times. Great bedtime read. Kid and parent approved :)

It's not often that I read such sweet, simple picture books with a heartwarming message. I appreciate that it's a quiet book about love empowering a child to try something new. Nicely done!

I appreciate so much of this book.
The curly hair representation made me pick this book right away, and the story focusing on a mother and son was an instant add for me.
I love that there isn't a big talk of the boy being on his own, but that he is loved and will be with Gpa soon.
I love that it showed a real example of how the kid can slowly overcome the fear of a new school within a week and show his little dino how to do it too.
And I will now be using the same practice of a hand over the heart with my little boy when he starts school this coming year.
I will come back to this book often.

This is such a sweet story and beautiful illustrations. My 5 year old understood the message and as a gentle, sweet boy himself, he really related to Alex.

This is a nice conversation starter for kids who are going away to school for the first time. It's also reassuring for their adults. The language is simple and easy to understand, and repetitive enough that kids will catch on and find it soothing.

What's with mom's hair? She looks a lot older than most preschool moms would be.

Thank you for the ARC. I will purchase for my library.

A very sweet little book about love and being separated at school. Lovely illustrations and a lovely concept of being apart but together in spirit.

This is a sweet book. Would be a good read to warm up kids who are going to start nursery or school. Also a really good book if you're in a single mum household! as it's just a kid and his mum.

Found this story to be adorable. Everyone knows how hard the first day of school is for a lot of kiddos. I believe a book like this one could help soothe their anxiety. It’s quick and short story with good illustrations.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

Found this story to be adorable. Everyone knows how hard the first day of school is for a lot of kiddos. I believe a book like this one could help soothe their anxiety. It’s quick and short story with good illustrations.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This was super cute. I thought the illustrations were adorable and I loved the storyline. As a mom with an almost 2-year old, I'm already worried about bringing my kid to a daycare center or school rather than the in-home daycare he's been in so this not only brought comfort to me but would definitely bring comfort to a child who is going to be going to school. I also loved the heartbeat trick - I think I'll use that if needed with my kiddo when it comes to that!

"What Will I Do If I Miss You?" is a heartwarming children's book about a young boy who is nervous about starting school and misses his mom. As the days go by, he begins to have fun, make new friends, and miss his mom less. This story beautifully captures the emotions of starting school and the joy of making new friends.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very reminiscent of the classic THE KISSING HAND by Audrey Penn. A child getting ready to go to school for the first time is worried that they will miss their mom, so Mom gives them a special just-between-us signal to remind them that the parent/child bond is strong, even across distances. I love that this theme is so universal that the story can be told multiple ways without getting old.
It’s nice that this particular version of the story is told with human characters (THE KISSING HAND was raccoons), because we don’t always need anthropomorphized animals to make relatable children’s stories. I do wish there was a bit more diversity to this book (most characters—even in the background—are white), but overall, it’s a sweet addition to the separation anxiety trope for picture books. Especially with the bit at the end, when the child teaches their favorite stuffed animal the signal, in case the stuffed dinosaur misses him when they’re apart.

This was a wonderful book to help children deal with their separation anxiety. My mom and I used to have a signal that was similar when I was a child and I can’t help but wonder if it helps mom just as much as it helped Alex. This would be great for a family with an anxious kiddo!

I wish I had this book for my niece and nephew, as well as the child I nanny for, who all started preschool this past year.

It is a huge transition, whether the kiddos are in school part time or full time! They miss their parents, plus another caregiver picking them up might feel extra chaotic. This book normalizes the anxiety and suggests a great coping skill that connects the child and parent.

The art is also beautiful, colorful, and complements the story beautifully!

The timing of this read was magical. I just registered my daughter for Pre-K and she is very nervous. I learned some coping strategies to help her through her first days.
I read this digital arc on my Boox Color 7. The illustrations looked vibrant on the eink screen.