I'll Be Here

By Jungkyung Yoo

“Now I’m your mom, and I can tell you this: you don’t have to hide your feelings. Whatever you feel is ok.” 

I’ll Be Here is an intergenerational story about a child’s need to be seen and a parent’s promise to see her. Love requires many things, but most of all forgiveness and opportunities to start anew.

Forthcoming Winter 2024. Pre-order here.

A Note from the Author 

“Don’t be angry.” “Stop crying.” “Don’t be scared.” Many of us never learned how to feel our feelings. When I was little, my parents didn’t like me expressing my negative emotions. I wanted to talk to someone about my feelings, but I couldn’t. That’s why I wrote this book — to let you know that everyone feels negative emotions from time to time. They may be difficult, but they are completely natural. Even though they may be uncomfortable, it is ok to feel what you are feeling right now. The more we allow ourselves to experience feelings, the better we get at appreciating our existence. And when we accept how we feel, we will understand each other better.

About the Author

Jungkyung Yoo was born in South Korea in 1982 and graduated from Hanyang University with a BA and MA in Communications. She has worked in the worlds of communication, public relations, and education for many years, including acquiring her TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate in Los Angeles in 2013. Jungkyung began training in writing in 2014 and is now a full-time author. This is her first published book. She currently lives in South Korea with her husband and young daughter.

About the Illustrator

Born in Milan in 1993, Lorenzo Sangiò graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts and obtained a Master’s degree at the Ars In Fabula school. He is now fully dedicated to the world of illustrated books and has been published in Italy and abroad, winning several awards and exhibiting his illustrations in Italy and France. He was included in the list of “Italian Excellence: the new generation of children’s illustrators” in the 2021 edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and was selected as a featured illustrator there in 2023. Currently, in addition to his work as an illustrator, Lorenzo is a teacher of Illustration at the Ars In Fabula school and on the Domestika platform. He loves drawing nature, cats, and cities.