I Love You With All My Heart

By Noris Kern

8-1/2 x 10-1/2 in; 32 pp ; Full Color Throughout, Ages 2-6
Hardcover
Published in April, 1998
ISBN 0811820319
ISBN13 9780811820318

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$15.95

Reviews

--Publishers Weekly
A polar bear wonders how to measure his mother's love in this enchanting picture book. On a pared-down palette of matte blues and greens reminiscent of the frigid arctic landscape. Kern introduces Polo and his cuddlesme friends, a young reindeer, penguin, seal pup and wolf cub. Each in turn helpfully attempts to describe the expanse of his own mother's love: ''My mother loves me, with all her wings,'' says Pinpin the penguin (or ''flippers'' for the seal, ''teeth for the wolf). For Polo, none of these responses sounds quite right; in a series of tender, double-page embraces between him and his mother, he seeks from her the appropriate answer. ''Does that mean you love me with all your fur?'' he asks. She assures him that she loves him with that and more. Meanwhile, Kern depicts, in simply detailed illustrations, with visibly textured brushwork, the gradual setting of the sun over the icy horizon: and as the shadows lengthen behind the bear cub's applauding friends, soon Polo slumbers beneath the protective paw of his mother. Kern's playful juxtapositions (at one point, many of the baby animals ride on the wolf's back) and close-up, irresistible hugs are ideally suited to the gentle question-and-answer text.

--Booklist
Would a caribou caution a polar bear to get out of the icy water so as not to get sick? Of course not. Would a seal or penguin venture into conversation with a polar bear cub? Never! But reality has been put on hold in this inviting picture-book affirmation of motherly love. Pinpin the penguin tucks a snowball under his wings to demonstrate how his mother loves him 'with all her wings.' Felix the seal, in turn, enfolds Pinpin within his flippers to show how his mother loves him 'with all her flippers.' When Polo the polar bear lumbers home to his mother and asks how she loves him, she explains that her protective cuddles, her glowing eyes, her playful nuzzling all express how she loves her cub with all her heart. The contented smiles of the Artic young as they traverse the icy blue landscape of their wintry home will comfort and reassure sleepy youngsters nestled in a loving lap at bedtime.

Author Info
Noris Kern Noris Kern's favorite toys as a child were crayons and paint brushes. She atttended drawing classes before starting elementary schools, but it was a university painting class, taught by a well-known painter, that made her decide to turn painting into her career!

Quotes
Kern neatly skirts the I-love-you-more-than school of competitive afection by putting maternal love into properly absolute terms....A sweet-tempered story. Kirkus

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