I'll Never Let You Go

January 13, 2014
Richmond’s (I Love You So...) latest celebration of unconditional parent-child love involves a third object of affection: a young bear’s baby blanket. Edward and Blankie are “the best of friends” who, as Richmond sweetly puts it, “met on the first day of Edward.” From stroller rides to naptime, the two are inseparable (the book’s title is Edward’s repeated refrain), and the author gives Blankie the faintest whiff of personification: “It’s true that Blankie would do anything for Edward. Be the table for his picnic. The roof of his fort. Or the cape for his magician’s costume.” The friendship-companionship theme segues into one of separation when Edward worries about going off to school without Blankie and suggests that the blanket will be sad without him. Mama finds a smart way to comfort her offspring, likening his impending separation from Blankie to hers from Edward: “ ‘When you love someone, you’re always together in here,’ she said, patting her heart.” Wispy, lightly dabbled watercolors in a pastel palette simply yet assuredly transmit Edward’s devotion to Blankie, and that of his mother to Edward. Ages 4–up.

February 15, 2014
A little bear struggles with separation anxiety as he prepares to go to school for the first time--without Blankie. "Edward and Blankie met on the first day of Edward." The treacly text goes on to describe how they've been inseparable ever since, playing, napping and cuddling together. Blankie mops up Edward's tears when he's sad, and Edward gives him a bath in the washing machine after an unfortunate encounter with an orange Popsicle. When Edward informs the tumbling blanket that he misses it, his mother remarks that it's good practice for when he goes to school. Edward is aghast. Mama explains that "[s]chool is a GREAT place to make new friends and try new things," telling Edward that like Blankie, she will be sad when he goes off to school but happy for him too. Edward and Mama brainstorm ways Blankie can keep busy, and thus steeled, Edward and Blankie turn in. Richmond depicts Edward as an animate teddy bear and Blankie as a blue fabric rectangle of inconsistent size and softness. Amateurish-looking rather than childlike, the watercolor illustrations are so splotchy and ill-defined that it's often hard to distinguish Blankie from, say, Edward's sheets or clothing. Though its heart is in the right place, this tale doesn't come close to the artistry of Kevin Henkes' Owen (1993), still the gold standard. (Picture book. 3-5)

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June 1, 2014

PreS-Edward Bear has a special friend, Blankie, that goes with him wherever he goes. "I'll never let you go," says Edward. But when the cub starts school, his mother says that Blankie must stay home with her. She draws a parallel between Edward and his friend, and herself and her son, saying she will miss him when he is at school. But she adds that they will always be together because, "'My heart will never, ever let you go, '" and Edward is satisfied. The illustrations do not live up to the rather poetic text, which subtly deals with both of Edward's separation fears-from his blanket, and his unspoken anxiety about leaving his mother. The light watercolor and ink depictions of the youngster and his blanket are small and cluttered; it is sometimes difficult to find the important Blankie in the pictures. This is not a necessary purchase, but it is potentially useful for parents/teachers dealing with separation anxieties.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

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