Will You Still Love Me?

March 1, 2010
Displacement anxiety isn't the sole domain of humans. In this story, a lot of junior members of the animal kingdom—from polar bear cubs to the tiniest mouse—fret over what a new sibling will do to the family dynamic: “Said the bunny to his mother, just as sweetly as could be,/ 'When the baby bunnies comes, will you still love me
?' ” Of course, is the reassuring answer across all species. “You're my moon and my sun,” quacks a mother duck to her duckling. “And there's room for me to love you all... each and every one.” Ostensibly, there's nothing surprising about Roth's (All Aboard to Work—Choo Choo!
) direct, openhearted couplets or Howarth's (Hoppy Hanukkah!
) cheery pastoral scenes, with their sweet echoes of mother-child activity (gardening, shopping, cuddling)—even the title could be applied to any number of books. But there's a sophisticated level of expertise at work, evincing the ability to ladle on reassurance without being sappy or boring. Both grownups and kids should find that its appeal has plenty of staying power—at least nine months' worth. Ages 2–5.

February 1, 2010
PreS-KA kitten, bunny, mouse, polar bear cub, duckling, and boy ask their mothers the same question in turn: "When the new baby comes, will you still love "me"?" The answers they receive vary in the details, but all affirm that the child is special and will still be cherished when the new sibling arrives. The questions echo the youngsters' need to understand change in terms of concrete details: "Will you still take me fishing? Will we romp through the snow?" asks the cub. Howarth's sunny watercolor and ink illustrations match the upbeat tone of the bouncy, rhyming text. In the final pages, the little boy questions his mother as he readies for bed. (In a lovely bit of visual continuity, the animals from the earlier parts of the book appear in some form in his room, raising the possibility that the earlier segments might have been part of his own dramatic play.) The boy's mother gently reassures him: "I will love you "forever"]/I will love you "wherever"]/I will love you "more" than ever]/when the new baby comes!""Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD"

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