Who Do You Love? (Board book)

~ (Author), Camilla Ashforth (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Waddell (the Little Bear books) introduces a cozy feline family preparing for bedtime in this smallish-format volume. As Mama helps Holly take her bath and wind down for the night, Holly wants to play their go-to-bed game. So Mama repeatedly poses the question in the title and the kitten names a specific member of her family and says why she loves each one. Hollys favorite part of the game comes when she has run out of family members to mentionsave for Mama, whom she teasingly leaves until the tail end. The kitten even adds in incidental friends to prolong the suspense (I love... the three kittens who roll down the hill; I love... the cat with the hat that we met yesterday in the woods). Mamas response to being omitted from Hollys litany (I think I might cry!) adds a humorous snap to this heartfelt tale. Once again Waddell hits the target with preschoolers just starting to flirt with independence. Ashforths (Horatios Bed) softly focused watercolor and pencil art, set into pale, mint-green pages, accentuates the soothing mood of the text. She makes the most of Hollys list of loved ones, using the kittens descriptions to fill in details of snug domestic scenes in Hollys kitchen, bedroom and surrounding hillsides. Preschoolers will love being in on Hollys go-to-bed game, and will want to try it out for themselves. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2An affectionate peek into a cozy nighttime ritual. Called in from the yard for supper, Holly joins her family at the table (these cats sit in chairs, dine on china, and wear dresses and waistcoats). Playfully standing backwards on her chair, she begs to play the go-to-bed game and Mama begins it by asking her, Who do you love? Holly runs through almost everyone but Mama (who repeats the question as she bathes the kitten and puts her to bed), saving her for last. Waddell captures a special moment between parent and child with a frankness that respects the youngsters autonomy and sincere love. His language is innocent and childlike. Ashforth provides fetching pastel watercolor paintings set off with white borders and placed against soft green backgrounds. Each picture is a tiny tableau of the object of Hollys affection: Pa telling her stories, Grandma baking a cake, her brother letting her ride his bike, the postman delivering a letter. Accompanying almost every illustration is a small cameo portrait of Holly preparing for bed. Children wont tire of looking at the pictures and will find something new almost every time.Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• Board book: 24 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (December 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763625655
• ISBN-13: 978-0763625658
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,594,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming and fun, April 13, 2000

By	Catherine A. Johnston (Eureka, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Who Do You Love? (Hardcover)

We love Martin Waddell's books, particularly the ones that have touched our hearts and tickled our funny bones (Once There Were Giants, The Big, Big Sea, The Pig in the Pond). This book fits right in! My daughter, now 3, is at the stage where she loves mama "best of all." And the delightful teasing in this bedtime story gave her a new way to play that game! We are thrilled to find another Waddell book that we hadn't read!

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute! Cute! Cute!!, August 14, 2009

By	Ace (East Coast) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Who Do You Love? (Hardcover)

I love this little book. It's a great interactive bedtime story.

The illustrations are warm fuzzies. The little baby kitten is having a great time with this nightly before-I-go-to-bed ritual telling his mama cat about all the people he loves, saving the VERY BEST part to the last.

I think this book will give little pre-school kiddies an elementary awareness of how to show their love and appreciation for their family and their community that they need in order to reach out to others as they grow and are nurtured in their home.

And the fact that the actors in the books are cute little kitties is a good way to help a little kid to be aware of and appreciate the family pets.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Whom do you love?, June 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Who Do You Love? (Hardcover)

This is a charming, cozy book, marred only by its repetition of bad grammar. The author and publishers (what are editors for?) have missed an opportunity to fix the correct form in the minds of children and parents everywhere, and to have it associated with a smiling, shared secret pleasure. No rhyme or rhythm would have been destroyed by saying "Whom do you love?" instead of "Who do you love?" Quite the contrary, in fact: the m of whom lends a certain delicious quality to the question. If you are reading to a non-reader, and can substitute whom for who without detection, this is recommended bedtime reading; if not, skip it.