Te Amo, Bebe, Little One [Hardcover]

Lisa Wheeler (Author), Renaissance House (Illustrator), Maribel Suarez (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

he pleasing, rhythmic text of this mother-child love story features rich Mexican imagery and a charming refrain. The sweet illustrations, following a mother and child from the baby's birth to his first birthday, bring the fiestas and mariachis resoundingly to life. Perfect for lap-sharing at bedtime or anytime, this enchanting book lends itself to reading aloud again and again!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-In this colorful picture book, lilting verses describe a baby's first year of life. As the seasons change, the infant and mother are shown engaging in a variety of activities including a trip to the beach, dancing to fiesta music at the country fair, and enjoying a winter's night beneath "la luna." The gentle refrain states: "I love you once. I love you twice./I love you more than beans and rice." Finally, the child is one year old, and it's time for a birthday party: "No cakes,/no pies,/no punch with ice-/that baby wanted beans and rice!" Spanish words are smoothly incorporated into the text. The illustrations are done in bright, bold colors and reflect the infant's gradual physical growth. The mother and child are shown with smiles on their faces, reflecting their love and enjoyment of one another's company. This is a good choice for intimate sharing with little ones.
Sheilah Kosco, Rapides Parish Library, Alexandria, LA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS. "I love you once, I love you twice. / I love you more than beans or rice. / I love you more than rain or sun. / Te amo, bebe, little one." The cheerful chant is repeated with just small changes as an infant grows into a toddler, and bright, clear watercolors show mother and child together as she bathes him, cuddles him, swirls him around to the music of mariachis at the fair, and, finally, rocks him on a winter night beneath la luna. At the end of the book, the boy turns one year old, and in the climactic picture he is big enough to walk alone out the door. The setting is shown as the seasons change: there's a "springtime morn," with baby in bed, summertime splashing at the beach, and more. The rhythmic words and the bond between parent and child make this a great first book for babies everywhere. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; Board Book edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316614106
• ISBN-13: 978-0316614108
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LISA WHEELER is the author of several award-winning picture books, including Sixteen Cows, One Dark Night, and Mammoths On the Move, which recently received a Parent's Choice Recommended Award. She lives near Detroit, Michigan. www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for your little one's collection, December 8, 2009

By 

Silver (DFW, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Te Amo, Bebe, Little One (Hardcover)

My daughter checked this out from the school library. It was an instant hit with my kids, ages 6, 7, 10 and ...yes, even my 15 yr old.

We all always say or text "I love you more than beans and rice!" haha... We add our own ridiculous rhymes.

The words are cute and the pictures are adorable. The younger kids' friends kept saying..why do you guys say that? So, we read it to them. Now, even they all ask to read it before bed whenever they spend the night on the weekend.

Maybe it's because we live in Texas and "get it" (like someone else said about being close to the border), but I don't know why this little book is not more widely known. I buy this book, Time for Bed, Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I Love You and Just in Case you Ever Wonder for all new baby gift-giving occasions, and this one is always a hit!

I just wish they made it in a board book format!

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, January 14, 2008

By 

Pelican Heart (Calvert Co. MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Te Amo, Bebe, Little One (Hardcover)

This is my absolute favorite book for bebes. It's the first thing I give all my new mother friends and I still cry every time I read it. (They grow so fast!) The "I love you once, I love you twice . . . " refrain has become a mantra for our family -- I'll start it and each of my kids takes a turn with another line. They even think it's fun to find other things that rhyme, like: I love you more than shrimp fried rice. We speak English and Spanish in our home, but even English-only speakers will love this book -- its theme of new baby love is universal.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buying at request of my son, November 27, 2006

By 

SGSG (Charlotte, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Te Amo, Bebe, Little One (Hardcover)

We borrowed this book from the library again and again so my 3 year old son has asked for his own copy. We had not borrowed it for awhile but we were having beans and rice for dinner tonight so that is what made him think of it (will make sense once you read the book)! I would recommend for baby to preschooler and maybe even early reader. It is fun to read, listen to, and look at.