I Love You, One to Ten

September 7, 2015
“How do I love you, little one?/ Let me count the ways,” begins Adderson (Eat, Leo, Eat!) as a mother lists off the things she loves about her redheaded, diaper-wearing toddler. Initially, the reasons correspond to body parts (“One is your face,/ so round and glad./ Two, your eyes,/ googly, bright”), though things get more esoteric as the poem progresses: “Your toes, too!/ Two toes on each foot!/ Your fingers and toes are Six.” Leist (On My Walk) gamely tries to help some of these references make more sense—a sock-clad foot wedged into a sandal gives the sense of two “toes,” and a scarf tucked into the child’s pants stands in for the tail the mother gushes over—but literal-minded readers may still puzzle over some of the language, adoring though it may be. Ages 2–5.

July 15, 2015
Inspired by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a lullaby of love from the mother to the rumbustious child. Adderson gets similarly emotional with her counting of the ways, from the moment she gathers steam-"Two, your eyes, / googly, bright"-to the rapture of "Seven has to be / your elbows and knees, / dimpled and scaly, / more places to kiss!" But there are clues that this is no gushfest. "Eight is your sturdy hump, / small now, but it will be big"; the green-pajama-clad is playing at being a dragon. The sudden shifts in tone-a swooning "so perfect!" to the ridiculous "your chins are Four. / Four chins!"-allow the mother's unconditional love to range freely. Leist's artwork has the clear lines of a hand drawing and the muted, pastel shimmer of a light silk screen. The colors often bleed beyond their borders, lending a dreamy quality to the proceedings, and a company of small details-a peekaboo cat that looks like an owl, a host of Band-Aids covering elbows and knees, and, count 'em, four chins indeed above a "drum-tum tummy"-slow the free-verse poem's momentum and introduce the possible notion of day's end. A tad gooey, but with enough googly to tame the treacle factor. (Picture book. 2-5)

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October 1, 2015

PreS-In this whimsical picture book, a mother counts the ways she loves her child as she gets him to bed. The gentle mixed-media cartoon artwork has a soothing palette and lots of movement as the child bathes and plays and reads before going to sleep. The words are somewhat unconventional-"Two, your eyes, /googly, bright./Three, your raspberry mouth, /so sweet./And your chins are Four./Four chins!/Little one, I love them all"-but the loving message comes across in spite of the more awkward passages. Leist's digitally colored illustrations are delightful but not outstanding. VERDICT An additional purchase.-Sarah Wilsman, Bainbridge Library, Chagrin Falls, OH

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