I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know

January 1, 2023
Husband-and-wife team and Broadway stars Odom and Robinson offer up an ode to the bond between parents and their growing children. Starting with a Black couple--perhaps stand-ins for the authors--and their little ones, the book portrays racially diverse families joyously engaged in a variety of activities (breastfeeding, cuddling on the couch, blowing bubbles in the park) as their babies mature. Addressed from parent to child ("Do you remember / when we first met? / It was a moment / I won't soon forget"), the tender verse exudes love and reassurance, while Hwang Ruiz's bright digital illustrations depict everyday moments. Toasty yellows, browns, and tans, along with vibrant greens and purples, make each page glow with an effervescent warmth that feels like a cozy embrace. Many books are devoted to the bond between parents and babies, but this one celebrates the transition from baby to toddler and toddler to big kid. The rhyming text lends itself well to emerging readers as well as to a bedtime read for the very young. The book depicts a variety of families, including some with parents who appear to be same-sex as well as a parent who uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A gentle testament to one of the few things that never changes--a parent's love. (Picture book. 2-7)

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July 17, 2023
“When I count all my blessings,// you’re always number one.// Sweetest of all is...// we’ve only just begun.” Odom and Robinson’s rhymes capture the unconditional love that various caregivers feel toward children in this poetic tribute. Hwang Ruiz’s chromatic digital renderings have a luminous quality as they depict arrayed family formations of various abilities, body types, and skin tones doting on cherubic infants and toddlers—chestfeeding and cuddling, and enjoying mealtime and playtime, bath time and bedtime. A view of children wreaking havoc in the kitchen leans into the joyous messiness of family life, and a birthday celebration spread is full of smiling partygoers. Repeated use amplifies the driving sentiment: “Day by day,/ as I watch you grow,/ I love you more/ than you’ll ever know.” Ages 3–6.