Love Is: (Illustrated Story Book about Caring for Others, Book About Love for Parents and Children, Rhyming Picture Book)

by Diane Adams, Claire Keane (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming book for young children about the challenges and joys that come with giving and receiving love.

This beautifully illustrated book tells the moving story of a little girl and a duckling who both grow to understand what it means to care for each other as they learn that love is as much about letting go as it is about holding on.

When a little girl finds a duckling who has wandered away from the park onto the city streets, she takes it home to care for it. The baby duck requires constant attention—early morning feedings, bathing, and tidying—until the time comes to say goodbye. When her pet has grown too big for the bath, the girl takes the full-grown duck back to the pond. Afterward, she misses it and wonders if it remembers her . . . until one day, the duck comes back—with six ducklings of her own.

ENGAGING AND EDUCATIONAL: Lyrical text makes the book fun to read aloud, while the story conveys important lessons about responsibility.

TALENTED CREATORS: Diane Adams is the author of Two Hands to Love You. Illustrator Claire Keane is the author and illustrator of Once Upon a Cloud and is also known for her development art for the movies Tangled and Frozen.

READERS LOVE IT: With a nearly 5-star rating on Amazon, reviewer rave! "This sweet and playful text, paired masterfully with engaging illustrations, defines love in its purest form," says one. Another calls it "the most beautiful children's book . . . super sweet, cute, and inspiring!"

Perfect for:

• Children who love animals
• Gift givers looking for a great birthday, Valentine’s Day, or Easter gift for children
• Fans of If Animals Kissed Good Night and On the Night You Were Born 

 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452139975
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	01/24/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	184,253
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Claire Keane is the author and illustrator of Once Upon A Cloud and is also known for her development art for the movies Tangled and Frozen. She lives in Venice Beach, California, with her husband and kids.

Diane Adams is the author of Two Hands to Love You, among other picture books. She lives in California.

Editorial Reviews

"Tenderly funny."—Here Wee Read

A Mighty Girl Books of the Year

"From the start of this book, the caring nature of a little girl and neediness of a lost duckling become intertwined."—The Washington Post

“A love poem, an ode to motherhood, this sweet and touching book will speak to children who have or want a pet, as well as to their parents.”-School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—A little girl finds a duckling who has wandered away from the park onto the city streets. She takes the baby home to raise. Her new charge requires constant attention—early morning feedings, bathing, and tidying—until the time comes to say goodbye. Realizing that her pet has grown too big for the bath, the girl takes the full-grown duck back to the pond to rejoin its family. Afterward, she misses it and wonders if it remembers her. One day, the duck comes back—with six ducklings of her own. "And love is also watching, waving,/wondering if love remembers you,/and knowing in a happy instant,/that love has lasted…/…and grown some, too." A love poem, an ode to motherhood, this sweet and touching book will speak to children who have or want a pet, as well as to their parents. The illustrations, rendered in Photoshop against a white background, reflect and enrich the text by adding humor: the wide-eyed girl cradling her pillow over her ears to drown out the midnight quacks; frantically chasing the duckling with a towel, bathwater overturned; or hands on hips, with dustpan and brush in front of a mound of sunflower seeds. The endpapers feature pale yellow duckies along with other elements from the story, such as a tub, a tree, a bag of seed, etc. VERDICT A tender choice for sharing with children and parents, especially on Valentine's Day.—Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

School Library Journal

2016-12-26
A cute-as-a-button moppet adopts, raises, and loves a lost little duckling.Keane's digital illustrations have the loose, line-and-wash, mid-20th-century look of Marc Simont or Hilary Knight, with the exception of their central character, a thoroughly modern brown-skinned girl with two black pom-pom pigtails. When the little, yellow duckling follows a butterfly out of the park, the protagonist finds it and brings it to her well-appointed row house (where she apparently lives alone, as there's no sign of an adult anywhere). She nurtures it through night feedings, plays with it inside, and, recognizing it's time to say goodbye, takes it back to the park, where it swims away. It's a 32-page expansion of the old poster platitude, "If you love something, let it go," and (spoiler alert) the duckling does indeed come back the following spring, now grown and with a brood of its own. Unfortunately, the text is simply a series of soppy, frequently nonsensical "Love is" statements entirely in line with the platitude. "Love is holding something fragile, tiny wings and downy head. / Love is noisy midnight feedings, shoe box right beside the bed." Having evidently decided to sacrifice sense to scansion and rhyme, Adams mystifyingly and periodically abandons that scansion, but never does she let go of the treacly sentiment. The charming illustrations mark Keane as one to watch, with her admirable command of line, composition, and narrative possibility. A pretty, hardcover greeting card. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews