Tag I Love You Forever and a Day

For Baby’s Bookshelf

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Frog & Friends
Fish & Friends
illustrated by Surya Sajnani
Quarto Kids (Wee Gallery)

These bath books cleverly change colour when wet.
The first introduces a little green frog on the lookout for friends to leap with: there’s a dragonfly, a duck and an otter each of which will come to life on the squishy tactile pages as an adult speaks the dozen words of the text, possibly then adding some croaky sounds.
The second is a fishy shaped sub-marine offering wherein the titular fish and friends starfish, turtle, whale and seahorse assume their colour when immersed by tiny human hands.
Both books offer splishy, splashy tactile fun learning for the very youngest humans at bath time: peekaboo with a difference.

We Hug Night Night
Patricia Hegarty and Thomas Elliott
Little Tiger

A loving father gently prepares a little child for sleep and in so doing, introduces listeners to parent and infant creatures – bears, possums, otters, cats, giraffes and birds all safe in their respective abodes also snuggling up in readiness for slumbering. Patricia Hegarty’s soothing rhyming words and Thomas Elliot’s endearing illustrations combine to lull little ones as an adult turns the cutaway pages of this goodnight charmer that is likely to become a bedtime favourite.

There’s parental love aplenty too in

I Love You Forever and a Day
Amelia Hepworth and Tim Warnes
Little Tiger

A big bear talks a cub through a specially imagined day of delights as the two enjoy companionable wanders through grassy fields, hop and leap across a flowing river, pausing awhile in a flower-filled meadow before splashing into the water, then carefully crossing a waterfall at sunset and finally heading off homewards under a star-filled sky.
Adults who have already delighted in I Love You to the Moon and Back will likely recognise the names of its creators from the cover of this one.

I Love You More Than All the Stars / I Love You Forever and a Day

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These are two picture books from Little Tiger both written in rhyme and both celebrating love: thanks to the publisher for sending them for review:

I Love You More Than All the Stars
Becky Davies and Dana Brown

The joys of a loving friendship between two small children is celebrated against an inky sky and Dana Brown’s unusual colour palette is what helps to makes this book that bit different from many of its kind.

We hear how the young friends share an unbreakable bond that is ‘deeper than the sea’, ‘stronger than a storm’ and ‘softer than a snowflake dance’, a bond that so the speaker says, will last for ever.

Much of what we see the two enjoying together takes place at night under the moon in scenes

illuminated by silver stars and the only additional colour is provided by the pops of salmon pink on the friends’ clothing and some of the natural images, a bird in flight and dancing leaves for instance.

I Love You Forever and a Day
Amelia Hepworth and Tim Warnes

In the sequel to I Love You to the Moon and Back the focus is on parental love as an adult bear takes its cub through an idyllic day of togetherness. We meet them at sunrise and join them walking through the countryside, jumping paw-in-paw to cross the water, pausing to observe a mother bird and her young, basking in the meadow, picking wild flowers, splashing in the river

and finally, heading homewards under the stars ready to snuggle up close and fall fast asleep,

The characters’ shared joy shines out from Tim Warnes’ scenes of ursine activity: his bears are hugely appealing to young children who will delight in snuggling up close to their own mum or dad (or perhaps grandparent) for some pre bedtime togetherness with this story.