Love is one of the most fun focal points of children’s literature, especially as it allows families to express their feelings for one another through someone else’s words. The Love Book is one such book, showcasing the love one mouse has for her child. Much like titles by Todd Parr’s, this book focuses on the expression of love more than on a specific plot. However, the illustrations in this book tell their own story, at once amplifying the text and creating an entertaining adventure for readers. And, it has a balanced meter that is a joy to read aloud. Please see my full review below!
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Love is an intense and mysterious feeling, and the love between a parent and a child is one of the most special of all. A mother mouse and her baby are sitting together one day, overlooking the rest of the farm they call home. As though answering the question “how much do you love me?” Mama Mouse carries the narrative of the story, explaining the depth of her feelings for her baby in unusual and memorable ways. With the help of the other farm animals, the love the two mice share is delightfully depicted, concluding with a heartfelt embrace and a promise of unconditional and unceasing affection. This charming story is a pleasant and heartwarming tale for young children to enjoy. Written in rhyming stanzas, the text is designed to be wonderfully engaging when read aloud. Each line is well-balanced, creating a predictable and lyrical pattern throughout the story that readers of all ages will appreciate. Printed in large font, the words are especially accessible to very young readers, and this design enhances both their ongoing print awareness and print motivation. Cartoon-like, wholesome, and whimsical illustrations feature farm animals in charming and unexpected circumstances on each page of the story. Saturated with color, these images become the focal point of the book while the text is layered carefully alongside them. While these images do correspond with the text, they also tell their own tale simultaneously, creating an entertaining additional layer to the story. Young children will love both observing the antics of the animals as this book is read aloud to them and discussing these behaviors at length with their caregivers. Full of both heart and memorable imagery, this book is a delightful selection to share with young children.
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