At the beginning of November, I got a rather polite email request to review a children’s book that was being released that week.  Normally, I ignore such review requests, but this one was worded so nicely, and the story behind the author and illustrator intrigued me.   So I told them I would be glad to take a look and a week later, this arrived in the mail:

This is one of those books that doesn’t really have an ending.  When you are done reading the mother’s love song to her son, the book flips over, and retells the “story” from the little boy’s point of view. 

It’s a sweet book.  It didn’t make me weep in the way of I’ll Love You Forever, but I didn’t feel “manipulated” either. Some of it seems corny reading it as an adult, but if you can step back into yourself as a little child, you realize that is how children think – they make up analogies based on what they see and their favorite things. Children have their own unique set of superlatives.  The book is kind of a combination between I’ll Love You Forever and Guess How Much I Love You.  Not as clever, perhaps, as the latter, but not as syrupy-sweet as the former.  It’s a nice balance, and the childlike, colorful illustrations round it out nicely.  The illustrations are a treat of soft, vibrant color, which really appeal to the young eye.

But most importantly, my son likes the book, really likes it, and I don’t mind reading it to him, which, as anyone with a two-year-old knows, means reading it over and over and over.

Overall, it’s a warm, feel-good, little book, which would make a perfect gift for a mother and son (or even a daughter).