And I Love You

PreS-Gr 2—Krauss's simple text, originally published as Big and Little (Scholastic, 1987), is given a fresh look. Each spread suggests a big thing that loves something smaller. Most of the objects are familiar, like "Big forests love little trees" and "Big fields love little flowers." One exception is when Krauss states that "Big monkeys love little monkeyshines." Modern readers may wonder what "monkeyshines" are, and the illustration seems a little out of step with the rest of the book. The message of the whole, however, is clear and comforting: big people love and value youngsters. Kellogg illustrates the short text with perhaps his most artsy work yet. He uses translucent watercolor blues, greens, and yellows that suffuse the artwork with light. Starbursts, balloons, and butterflies fill the air around the main characters. The artist's recent use of textured surfaces in his painting, as in The Pied Piper's Magic (Dial, 2009), is here extended to a greater degree and the textures add dimension and interest to the pictures.—Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT