I Loved You Before You Were Born [Paperback]

Anne Bowen (Author), Greg Shed (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

"Even before you were born,
I was your grandma and I loved you."

A loving grandmother eagerly awaits the arrival of her grandchild. She dreams of the baby's soft sighs, sweet smells, and tiny toes, and imagines the infant smiling, rolling over, and crawling for the first time. Finally, the baby arrives and Grandma is ready with a very special message.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shed's (The Butterfly House) intimate, soft-focus oil portraits add a nostalgic quality to this sweet story of a grandmother recollecting the arrival of her grandchild. "Even before you were born, I was your grandma and I loved you," muses the narrator as if addressing the child directly. She then goes on to enumerate all the wonders of babyhood ("I imagined your soft sighs and sweet smells/ and your tiny toes lined up/ like pink pearls on a necklace") and times shared ("I imagined holding you close,/ rocking you,/ watching you make faces as you dreamed"). Her imaginings span a full year, through baby's first Christmas and birthday ("I saw you eating birthday cake, pink and yellow frosting finger painted across your face") and culminate with the infant's actual birth. Debut children's author Bowen captures the eagerness and anticipation attendant upon the birth of a new family member, and her poetic descriptions ("hands spread out, like little starfish"; "ribbons of autumn sunlight weaving through your hair") brim with sentimental tenderness. Shed's realistic portraits evoke the feeling of a family photo album, including close-ups of the fetching baby and various beaming family members. Just right for sharing on Grandma's lap. All ages.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-This gentle story celebrates the love of a grandmother for her new grandchild. The opening refrain, "Even before you were born," is repeated throughout the text, coupled with "I loved-," "I wondered-," "I imagined-." The sense of waiting and anticipation is almost tangible, and many of these hoped-for events (smiling at daddy, rolling over, sharing a book) come to fruition in the illustrations. Shed's full-page images are set opposite warm, pastel text pages. The realistic yet soft-edged paintings convey the loving intimacy of family, and perfectly complement the joyful text, which is sweet without being saccharine. A perfect gift for a grandchild and lovely for sharing one-on-one.
Robin L. Gibson, Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064436314
• ISBN-13: 978-0064436311
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > New Baby
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Holidays & Festivals > Non-religious
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Multigenerational

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book should come with an explanation!!, June 13, 2005

By 

M. Gillen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Loved You Before You Were Born (Hardcover)

As a first time grandmother, I was so looking forward to getting this book. the book is beautiful and the pictures are so sweet. when I started to read it thought what a dissapointment! It is written by the point of view of a grandmother whose son and daughter-in-law is having a baby. one of the examples is "I remember when your daddy was growing inside my tummy" and I remember how your daddy had his favorite blanket when he was little". I want to keep this book and the only thing I can think of to do is get magic marker and change the "Daddys" and "His" to "Mommy" and "Hers". I thought this book was going to be written in general terms of grandma and new baby.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars point of view, January 12, 2007

By 

P. M. Wright - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Loved You Before You Were Born (Hardcover)

This is a fine book if you are the paternal grandmother, which I am not. Had I known it was written from the point of view of the paternal grandmother, I would not have ordered it. It just doesn't work for me, the maternal grandmother, and it was too late to send it back.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Grandma Book, March 15, 2006

By 

Mamie (Corinth, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Loved You Before You Were Born (Paperback)

This book is well written and I really like it, but it has it's limitations. It is written like a letter from a paternal grandmother with a living spouse to a biological grandchild. The words could be easily changed to read from the perspective of a maternal grandmother, widowed grandmother or grandmother of an adopted grandchild (although, there is a picture of a pregnant mother on one of the pages). The words are sweet and endearing.