I Promise I'll Find You (Paperback)

by Heather Patricia Ward (Author), Sheila McGraw (Illustrator) "If I had a little choo-choo train,..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
It will be up to presiding adults to create an appropriate context for this underbaked book, which is dedicated in part to "all of the missing children in the world." In verse, a mother tells her child about the ways she might search for him: "If I had a little racecar/ I'd race the whole world twice./ I'd find you and I'd keep you,/ Oh, that would be so nice." Where Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny reassuringly tells a child that a parent's love will follow him wherever he goes, Ward changes the script: I will find you wherever you are taken. In doing so she seems to introduce the anxiety her book seeks to dispel. McGraw (who illustrated Love You Forever) serves up a set of bouncy full-spread pastels splashed with sunlight. Readers may enjoy hunting through the art for the stray child, found on every spread except one-an inconsistency that is particularly disturbing in light of the book's themes. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
Remember what it felt like to be lost, as a child? The brief moment of helpless terror, experienced at the grocery store, or felt when you wandered away from home, or even momentarily let go of a parent's hand in a crowd, is a universal experience of childhood. Though it may seem a minor inconvenience once we're safely grown into adulthood, the possibility of being lost, away from family and friends, never to return again is frighteningly real to children. In just eleven simple verses, Heather Patricia Ward offers gentle reassurance that no matter the obstacles, parents will search for, and find, their lost child. I Promise I'll Find You deftly manages to take a very scary topic, and make it one in which adults can understand the helplessness a child may feel. In the story children will find the comfort they need to keep a difficult topic in perspective. The illustrations by Sheila McGraw, best known for her illustrations of the best-selling children's book, Love You Forever, are colorful, but calm, and offer a bit of humor to a serious subject. By sea, by air, by train, by horseback and by several other kid-friendly methods of transportation, a devoted mother and a little dog search high and low for a lost child. The story is warmly resolved with all parties reunited. "And if I had no other way, I'd walk or crawl or run. I'd search the very ends of the earth, For you my precious one. So remember this my darling, for it is very true. If ever you're apart from me, I'll search till I find you." The book has been dedicated to all the missing children in the world and a portion of the author's royalty on each book sold will be donated to child finding agencies. -- From Independent Publisher

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (July 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552090949
• ISBN-13: 978-1552090947
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #326,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Heart Warming Story for Both Young and Old, September 4, 1999

By A Customer

The first time I read this book it made me cry! My daughter absolutely loves the story and the beautiful pictures. Although the age range for the book is older, my daughter was enjoying it at 19 months. The notion of a mother always searching for her missing child ensures a child that they are never, ever forgotten. What a wonderful, simple book. Buy it!!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Godsend!, September 6, 2000

By	Donna L. Musselwhite (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Myr son was 3 1/2 when he was kidnapped by his biological mother and taken to a foreign country. It took 9 weeks and much red tape to get him back. I wanted him to always know that I never gave up hope of his returning to me. What a perfect story to find. We have a dog who resembles the one in the book. James always says "that's you Mommy and Molly and there I am." It has been 3 years since his return and we still read that story at least once a week. Our adoption is final but this story is a reminder to him that I would never give up hope on him!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching story, perfect for loved ones who live far away, April 19, 2000

By	christy (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Beautiful little book. Each verse is just so sweet. I gave this book to my (adult) best friend when she moved 2500 miles away, and she cried when she read it. It's a great way to confirm your love for your child, but the message is ageless- give it to anyone whom you love. Nice, rich pictures, too.