❤ HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY ❤

Love Is
Written by Diane Adams
Illustrated by Claire Keane
Chronicle Books   2/01/2017
978-1-4521-3997-5
32 pages    Ages 3—5

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“Love is holding something fragile,
tiny wings and downy head.

“Love is noisy midnight feedings,
shoe box right beside the bed.

It’s peaceful sleeping,
no more peeping,
“tucked in tightly head to toes.

“Love is waking up together,
side by side, and beak to nose.

“A girl and duckling share a tender, funny year as they grow together, care for each other, and learn that love is as much about letting go as it is about holding tight.” [INSIDE JACKET]

Review
[WC 451]
A young duckling, distracted by a red butterfly, chases the butterfly but loses its family. A young girl finds the duckling, makes a nest in a shoebox, and then raises the duckling. Midnight feedings, late night squawking, and then tucked in together becomes the young girl’s nightly ritual. The two enjoy each other’s company, when the duckling is not making a mess or the girl is not bathing the duckling. They play games and learn new things together. Soon a year has gone by and the girl realizes the duckling, her duckling, is no longer a baby. The duck needs a bigger pond than the bathtub provides. Finding ducks swimming in the river, the girl sets her duck free. Now she is alone and feeling very much so. The young girl misses her duckling and, sometimes, wishes it could have stayed a duckling. Then one day . . .
Love Is a beautiful story. My first reading nearly had me in tears; it is that touching a story. A young girl and a duckling spend one year together, learning about trust, sacrifice, and growing together. The text consists mostly of sentiments beginning with “Love is.” Together, these make up a sweet story, which is sometimes quite funny. The young girl could be anyone, especially a new mother with the midnight feedings and the cant’-keep-her-eyes-open mornings. The duckling is cute, whether being mischievous or darling.
The digitally created illustrations are beautiful and greatly enhance the text. The young girl and the duckling both have body language and eyes full of emotions. The young girl’s stance often clues readers into the situation long before the text might. There is much to love and children will adore the duckling as it gets into things, or simply causes trouble by being itself. Without names attached to either character, they can represent anyone.

Love Is the perfect story for parents whose child leaves them in an empty nest. Love Is the perfect book for many occasions—Valentine’s Day—or for none at all. Any day you need an emotional lift, Love Is can help raise your spirits. The young girl sacrifices to raise the duckling and then must let it go when it is full-grown. The sorrow is palatable, yet so is the joy.
Young children will greatly enjoy this story and many readers will be touched for their own personal reasons. Love Is has a way of reaching into your heart and touching whatever needs to be touched. This makes Love Is a powerful picture book. While a tad sentimental, Love Is will find audiences far and wide.

❤ Today being Valentine’s Day, I thought Love Is would be the perfect valentine for you, my loyal readers. ❤

LOVE IS. Text copyright © 2017 by Diane Adams. Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Claire Keane. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.

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Reprinted with permission from LOVE IS © 2017 by Diane Adams, Chronicle Books. Illustrations © 2017 by Claire Keane.

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Copyright © 2017 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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Love Is
Written by Diane Adams
Illustrated by Claire Keane
Chronicle Books 2/01/2017
9781452139975