When You Have to Wait - Hardcover

by Melanie Conklin (Author), Leah Hong (Illustrator)

A mindful, gentle picture book about patience and learning to find beauty in the act of waiting.

Sometimes, you have to wait.

For the line at the public pool on a hot summer day.
For mom to come home after being away.

For your legs to grow just a bit longer to ride a new big kid bike.

The seconds drag on... each one feels like forever. Why can't you have it now?

But while you wait, you might notice things: a possible new friend who is also in line, why homecoming hugs are extra special, and how beautiful the world is when you're not racing by.

Sometimes, when you have to wait, you find the good in the moments between now and later.

Author Biography

Melanie Conklin grew up in North Carolina and worked as a product designer before she began her writing career. Her debut middle grade novel, Counting Thyme, is a Bank Street Best Children's Book, winner of the International Literacy Association Teacher's Choice Award, and nominated to four state reading lists. She is also the author of Every Missing Piece, A Perfect Mistake, Crushed (2024), and her picture book debut, When You Have to Wait (2023). When she's not writing, Melanie spends her time doodling and dreaming up new ways to be creative. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

Leah Hong spent many of her childhood hours drawing stories, but it wasn't until she had children of her own that she became re-immersed in the world of picture books, and fell in love with them all over again. An art school graduate with a visual arts degree in painting, Leah has worked both as an illustrator and a graphic designer. Her lifelong love of making art and storytelling led her to create her picture book debut, Happy Dreams, Little Bunny. She lives with her family in Vancouver, British Columbia.