To Be With You

Words by Dave Gunning

Illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-405-8

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

September 2025 

 

Based on Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Gunning's song of the same title, To Be With You is a love song. It's the love of a dog for their child, and the unbreakable bond that connects them every moment of every day and every night.

From To Be With You, words by Dave Gunning, art by Meaghan Smith

In very simple rhyming text that young children will adore and repeat easily, the song (listen to it here) speaks to different dogs spending time with their children: playing, sleeping, eating together, going for walks, and touching. Its refrain, "All I want is to be with you," repeats over and over again, though the children and dogs vary. There's a girl in a wheelchair hugging a dog as big as herself, and a dachshund excited for a walk with their child who wears yellow rain gear. There's a girl with a leg brace running through a wildflower meadow with a large floppy dog, and a husky-like dog chasing bubbles that a small boy is blowing. All children are here as are all the dogs that bring them companionship, love, and safety. And Dave Gunning's words make it clear that,

All I want is to be with you

All day long and all night too

All I want is to be with you

All I want is to be with you 

From To Be With You, words by Dave Gunning, art by Meaghan Smith

Much of the sweetness in To Be With You comes from Meaghan Smith's illustrations. She may also be an East Coast singer-songwriter, but her art is what defines this book. (The first book I've reviewed that included her art was It Snowed (2025) which she wrote and illustrated.) She brings great softness and affection to her art. Most notably, though, we notice that we rarely see the child's full face. The emphasis is on each dog, speaking to the child about what they are feeling, demonstrating exuberance, love, and togetherness with every flick of a tail, tongue hanging out, and eyes wide open anticipating their next moment together. Meaghan Smith makes the story, and Dave Gunning's words, about the dog, and it's a joyous perspective.

From To Be With You, words by Dave Gunning, art by Meaghan Smith

For the child who loves their dog, and who loves them right back, To Be With You will become a lovely accompaniment to a bedtime routine, a walk in the park, or a wind-down song before a nap. Moreover, the words could just as easily be a love song between a parent and child—do listen to the song (link here again) because its melody is very catchy—and could become a new lullaby to share  in your home.

It Snowed

Written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-413-3

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

November 2025 

 

In my part of the country, many children (and adults) woke up today to a winter wonderland. And that wonder is captured in the text and art of Meaghan Smith in It Snowed.

 

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Two young children wake up to find that it snowed in the night. They are delighted, along with their dog and maybe their cat, to see deep drifts of snow have coated the yard and the road. When their parents suggest a day to play hooky, they bundle up and go sledding. 

How merry

    How bright

A snowfall turns the 

     world into a lovely sight (pp. 20–21) 

When the day ends, and after an evening by the fireside, the children head to bed after wishing on a star for, you guessed it, another snow day.

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

Meaghan Smith may be the author-illustrator of It Snowed but she's also the award-winning singer-songwriter who wrote the song titled "It Snowed." (You can listen to different versions of her song on her YouTube channel.) That song, and now this picture book, capture children's joy of a snow day when it's all about the promise of play in the snow. It's about being outside the whole day, overlooking the cold, and only coming inside to warm up, eat, and then get ready for bed. It's a special time and the stuff of memories.

 

The rhyming text points to its derivation from a song, but Meaghan Smith's illustrations give it a new dimension, one of softness and of sensation. Those children, and even their pets and wildlife, remind us that snow gives us a different world. It can be one of ordinary play, but it can also be one of magic. And Meaghan Smith's art sparkles just as snow does.

From It Snowed, written and illustrated by Meaghan Smith

We'll have many more days of snow ahead—apparently we're in for more cold and snow this winter—so it'll be a perfect opportunity to bring out It Snowed to read and to sing after a day of play and perhaps after enjoying a hot chocolate and a fire. It'll be a treat for bedtime and to spark some delightful dreams about yet another snow day.