Bigger than a bumblebee

In a loving meditation that connects relative size with love's largesse, a child's caretaker considers the child's stature in comparison to components of the natural world. "My little darling,/ you are so big," begins simple, affectionate text by Kuefler (Pillow Places), as a pink-skinned adult and child are shown cuddling on a golden hill. Subsequent pages contrast the child's size with diminutive flora and fauna--"the dandelions rising// and the caterpillars/ climbing"--until a spread showing the child's small hand against the adult's larger one provides a narrative turn: "You are big./ But you are small, too." Comparisons to larger beasts and elements follow ("You are smaller than/ the brown bear fishing/ and the waterfall flowing/ and the granite rocks/ growing moss on their sides"). Finally, streakily textured images convey love as an emotion that transcends the book's main organizing principle: an adult and child elephant kiss, a mature flamingo attends an egg, and a sheep and lamb nuzzle until the image returns to the human duo in this linguistically and visually spare ode to a tenderness that's "small,/ but it is big, too." Ages 4--8. (Sept.)

Does love come in different sizes? An adult caregiver uses nature as a backdrop to gently empower the young child initially seen cuddled close by naming things that are much smaller than that child is: dandelions, caterpillars, bees, toads, dragonflies, turtles, and more. The second-person text also realistically explains that there are things in and out of this world that are much, much bigger: bears, waterfalls, lions, oceans, blue whales, stars, and galaxies--even love itself! The speaker elaborates by explaining that love means "a sheltering hug," a kiss, and gives examples of how some animal families tenderly demonstrate their love in gentle ways. The narration concludes with the reassurance that "love is me and you. Our love is small, but it is big, too." Many adult readers likely will interpret the statement to suggest that a big emotion like love is often expressed through small yet meaningful actions. Though it's true, this distinction might confuse some little listeners. It's likely youngsters will have already been exposed to books like this that reassure them of their parents' overwhelming love. If so, they've received the impression that parental love is enormous. The concept expressed here--that an abstraction like love is comparable to tangible, real-world objects that can be physically compared on a big-small basis--may confound some literal-minded kids, especially if they've been reassured otherwise. The colorful, natural-world illustrations, as serene as the reassurance conveyed, ennoble the text. Adult and child both have light-brown skin and brown hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A different, unusual, possibly mind-bending take on a big concept. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.