Like So

by Ruth Forman, Raissa Figueroa (Illustrator)

Overview

From bestselling author Ruth Forman and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honoree Raissa Figueroa comes a lyrical and vibrant picture book honoring the love and bond that exists between family and child even in complicated times.

Told from Nana’s point of view, this simple, affirming, and comforting read-aloud shows how every family’s love is natural and connected to the world around us. Just as the sun loves the day, the moon loves the waves, and the night sky loves the star glow…so is our love for each other: innate, wondrous, and infinite.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665917551
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	1 - 4 Years

About the Author

Ruth Forman is the author of bestselling children’s books Curls, Glow, Bloom, Ours, One, and Like So, as well as award-winning poetry collections We Are the Young Magicians and Renaissance. 

Raissa Figueroa is an illustrator and graphic designer based in San Diego, California. Visit her online at RizzyFig.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/06/2023

“We got love,” rejoice the child and caregiver at the center of this rhapsodic work, which takes on a sweeping dimension through Forman’s poetic descriptions of a natural world that’s built on affection. Just as the Black-presenting duo exult in their devotion to each other (“I hug you like so// You hug me like so”), they find the moon, the sun, the days, the trees, and so on also “got love like so,” per a rhythmic refrain. Light infuses Figueroa’s smudgy landscapes, which abound with botanicals and butterflies, and this luminosity extends into concluding nighttime winter scenes of the figures building a snowman beneath a velvety sky dotted with pricks of snow and stars (“night sky got love like so/ star glow got love like so”). Just like the protagonists’ gentle opening embrace, text and art communicate a tender and expansive loving-kindness. Ages 1–4. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2023

PreS-K—A simple read-aloud about a child and grandmother's time together through the progression of a year. Shifts of color in the vibrant illustrations designate the changing seasons as a grandmother and granddaughter share the simple expressions of love in everyday life: baking in the kitchen, enjoying a hike, walking along the beach, picking berries, and building a snowman. As with all of Forman's work, essential truths and acts of love are hidden in plain sight, and in Figueroa's purehearted scenes, rendering intimate details of family life, quality time, and authentic goodness. Simple, vernacular language perfectly meshes with a gorgeous use of color in this beautiful picture book. VERDICT A worthwhile addition to any collection for young readers.—Jennifer LaBurre

School Library Journal

2023-10-07
“We got love like so.”

A Black-presenting grandparent and grandchild have endless love for one another. Forman punctuates each sentence with the refrain “like so”: “I kiss you like so / you kiss me like so // I hug you like so // you hug me like so.” The text has a rhythmic cadence that readers will enjoy; they’ll eagerly anticipate the refrain and will be chiming in by book’s end. Figueroa’s art subtly conveys the passing of time as we see the pair through all four seasons and during both day and night. In one scene, they share a good-night embrace while the child’s parents look on smiling; in another, the pair prepares pancakes in the kitchen. The two spend time in nature, too, holding hands while watching a butterfly alight on a sunflower and walking along the beach in the moonlight. Through it all, their love is unwavering, reflected in their hugs, kisses, and declarations. Figueroa employs a gorgeous gradient of colors. The illustrations have a watercolorlike feel, with an ephemeral mist that swirls across the page. One spread depicts the night sky filled with stars and planets, with the shape of a heart superimposed—an especially tender page. Soothing and affirming, this is an ideal offering for a loving adult to share with a little one.

Perfect for a cuddly story hour or a cozy bedtime read. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews