And They Walk on

A boy says farewell to a loved one as he imagines her walking on into her next journey, a moving and superbly illustrated story about loss and hope by Fry Bread author Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by acclaimed, award-winning artist Rafael López.

When a young boy's grandmother walks on, he wonders where she's gone.

Did she go to the market to buy ripe melons? Or maybe she's in the garden, watering her herbs?

It feels like she's somewhere far away, so the boy finds new ways to share stories about his day, hoping she can hear him.

Even her house feels like it's waiting for her return. Then as the boy approaches the kitchen, the scent and memories of her cooking assure him that no matter where she is, her love will always be close by.

Because when someone walks on, they stay with us. They grow in our hearts and guide us as we walk in their footsteps.

Award-winning author of Fry Bread, Kevin Noble Maillard, breathes life and love into this intimate picture book about loss, with illustrations from renowned, best-selling artist, Rafael López.

Author: Kevin Maillard
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 10/14/2025
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 10.00h x 10.00w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781250821980
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 07/21/2025
Booklist 09/01/2025

About the Author

Kevin Maillard is a contributor to the New York Times and a professor of law at Syracuse University. He is the author of Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, a picture book illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, which won the Sibert Medal and the American Indian Youth Literature Honor. An enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, he lives with his family in Manhattan and Vermont.

Rafael López is a New York Times-bestselling, award winning illustrator who has illustrated numerous acclaimed picture books, including The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly (New York Times bestsellers), Dancing Hands (Pura Belpré Medal), and Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You (Schneider Award), among others. His illustrations bring diverse characters to children's books, and he is driven to create books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people. Rafael is the recipient of three Pura Belpré medals, the Schneider Family Book Award, the Jane Addams Book Award, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award, as well as the illustrator of three New York Times bestsellers. He was the first guest artist of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum and founder of the Urban Art Trail, a series of large-scale community murals around the U.S. Rafael lives in San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.