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    The River of Caregiving

    Author Jocelyn Chung
    Illustrated by Sarah Gonzales
    Hardcover
    $18.99 US
    Penguin Young Readers | Nancy Paulsen Books
    On sale May 19, 2026 | 32 Pages | 9780593533604
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    An uplifting celebration of familial love and support through the generations

    Caregiving flows through a little girl’s family in so many ways, like a river connecting them all. Her grandfather cares for her by picking her up from school with a snack and a smile, and she cares for him by keeping him company at his doctors’ appointments with a snack and a smile. Her mother helps her grandmother get ready for the day, just as her grandmother once helped her mother. And when the relatives send packages to each other, their caring makes them feel closer. Through occasions big and small, it’s a comfort to know this river of love is ever-present, and her family will always be there for each other.

    Jocelyn Chung’s evocative text and Sarah Gonzales’ gorgeous pictures remind us that our family’s love is a gift to be treasured.
    Jocelyn Chung View titles by Jocelyn Chung
    Filipino-Canadian illustrator SARAH GONZALES was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada. She has been drawing ever since she can remember and has never stopped; she eventually went to the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she focused on illustration and design. Sarah is the Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning illustrator of The Only Way to Make Bread, written by Cristina Quintero. She lives in Montreal. View titles by Sarah Gonzales
    * “An unnamed child of Taiwanese descent explores the reciprocal nature of caregiving. A-ma (the young narrator’s grandmother) explains that ‘the way we care for one another never stops. It connects each generation to the next and back again.’ . . . The protagonist tenderly examines a variety of personal relationships. Mama helps A-ma wash and get ready while remembering how A-ma dressed her as a child. The protagonist reflects on how A-gong (Grandfather) ‘picks me up from school with a smile and a snack’; the child translates for him at his doctors’ appointment. Chung explores how care can be expressed within a family. . . . Chung’s deceptively simple narrative brims with a joyful warmth heightened by Gonzales’s cozy artwork, textured with waves of blended colors and shapes. Chinese and Taiwanese terms are naturally integrated within the text. The recurring allusion to rivers is an inspired—and beautiful—choice, honoring the love that familial structures provide. A rare and wonderfully rendered tribute to caregiving throughout the generations.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
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    About

    An uplifting celebration of familial love and support through the generations

    Caregiving flows through a little girl’s family in so many ways, like a river connecting them all. Her grandfather cares for her by picking her up from school with a snack and a smile, and she cares for him by keeping him company at his doctors’ appointments with a snack and a smile. Her mother helps her grandmother get ready for the day, just as her grandmother once helped her mother. And when the relatives send packages to each other, their caring makes them feel closer. Through occasions big and small, it’s a comfort to know this river of love is ever-present, and her family will always be there for each other.

    Jocelyn Chung’s evocative text and Sarah Gonzales’ gorgeous pictures remind us that our family’s love is a gift to be treasured.

    Author

    Jocelyn Chung View titles by Jocelyn Chung
    Filipino-Canadian illustrator SARAH GONZALES was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Canada. She has been drawing ever since she can remember and has never stopped; she eventually went to the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she focused on illustration and design. Sarah is the Ezra Jack Keats Award-winning illustrator of The Only Way to Make Bread, written by Cristina Quintero. She lives in Montreal. View titles by Sarah Gonzales

    Praise

    * “An unnamed child of Taiwanese descent explores the reciprocal nature of caregiving. A-ma (the young narrator’s grandmother) explains that ‘the way we care for one another never stops. It connects each generation to the next and back again.’ . . . The protagonist tenderly examines a variety of personal relationships. Mama helps A-ma wash and get ready while remembering how A-ma dressed her as a child. The protagonist reflects on how A-gong (Grandfather) ‘picks me up from school with a smile and a snack’; the child translates for him at his doctors’ appointment. Chung explores how care can be expressed within a family. . . . Chung’s deceptively simple narrative brims with a joyful warmth heightened by Gonzales’s cozy artwork, textured with waves of blended colors and shapes. Chinese and Taiwanese terms are naturally integrated within the text. The recurring allusion to rivers is an inspired—and beautiful—choice, honoring the love that familial structures provide. A rare and wonderfully rendered tribute to caregiving throughout the generations.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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