Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3^-6. Giles' rhyming poem expresses love as experienced through the physicalness of childhood. A cheery bear cub jumps out of bed ready to spend the day outdoors rollicking and picnicking with his other animal friends. In the little bear's idyllic world, love is evident everywhere: in the dawn, cuddling with Mom and Dad, playing hide-and-seek, in nature's beauty, in eating, splashing in puddles, and in the bath. Cabban's watercolor illustrations fill the double-page spreads and capture the warm-fuzzy feeling of the poem. The text at times gushes ("Love is a handful of honey, / And love's making friends with the bees, / Even the flowers are bursting with love / When they're dancing about in the breeze."), but as a whole, this book presents a joyful, warm experience for young ones. --Kathy Broderick
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Cabban captures and communicates the perpetual motion of a carefree toddler. The rhyming text follows a young bear through a day of normal doings (walking with parents, a picnic with friends, bath time). Each double-page spread shows the smiling youngster finding love in an activity. "Love is splish-splashing through puddles,/And love's getting soaked in the rain./Love is a rainbow that bursts through the sky/When the Sun begins shining again." The book is saved from being overly sweet, though just barely, by the exuberance of the watercolor-and-ink illustrations. This book is meant for one-on-one sharing, and youngsters will enjoy searching for the tiny mice that follow the young bear and his friends on their adventures. If your copy of Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You (Candlewick, 1995) sees a lot of action, this book will too.-Timothy Capehart, Leominster Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Love is defined as everything from toe tickling to playing hide-and-seek to that last little cuddle and kiss / That helps you sleep safe through the night in a syrupy, uneven rhyme that follows a little bear as he goes about his day. The affectionate watercolor illustrations are warm and inviting, but the text is too all-encompassing in its definition of love to make much of a point. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A little bear's day is filled with love'big, small, buzzing, wet, and sweet. Andreae points out that love can cover a much wider range of experiences than simple romantic notions, and may not even involve another person: ``Love is a feeling of laughing out loud,'' or, more insipidly, ``Love is a rainbow that bursts through the sky when the sun begins shining again.'' Where there is a connection to another person or creature, ``Love is when somebody quietly listens to everything you've got to say.'' Making friends with bees, slurping handfuls of honey, and bursting to share the day's adventures with family at bathtime are some of the more original expressions of feeling that ring true. Cabban's illustrations show the little bear's world as a secure, happy place'just the kind of home where love abounds. (Picture book. 3-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
