No, it's fine, I love to cry!

Gosh, this is a beautifully moving and gorgeously illustrated book. Every culture, every religion, every individual person has their own idea of what happens when a person is no longer with us. 'And They Walk On' draws on a predominant Indigenous idea that imagines death as a kind of walking on. We follow a grieving young boy as he wonders: where did his grandmother walk to? Is she coming back? How are her things just as she left them? We learn that through the power of love, food, and continued remembrance, a loved one is never truly gone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In language that only those who have said goodbye can really feel, this book is a gentle hand, leading you to where those who walk on go. It is kind and warm and understanding. It is beautifully illustrated in a way to guide even the youngest of us to learn about those who have walked on, and how we all walk, in the end.

This is a very poignant, beautifully illustrated book for children about what happens when a loved one dies. Many children have questions or thought that they don't know how to express and the protagonist in this story also gives voice to his confusion. The book looks at death through an Indigenous, Catholic, Mexican, and African-American lens, but keeps the idea of an afterlife vague and uses the phrase "walked on" instead of died, as is the Native American tradition.

I loved the illustrations and the poetic writing. It will be a must-purchase book for my family. I highly recommend this tender picture book to libraries, schools, and families.