The I Love You Book

( 87 )

Overview

I love you when you give me kisses.
I love you when you need hugs...
Most of all, I love you just the way you are.

In his newest picture book, Todd Parr explores the meaning of unconditional love in a heartfelt, playful way. Featuring a heart-shaped die-cut and sparkling silver foil on the cover, this is the perfect way to say, "I love you!" Parents and caregivers are sure to be inspired by Todd's vibrant ...

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More About This Book

Overview

I love you when you give me kisses.
I love you when you need hugs...
Most of all, I love you just the way you are.

In his newest picture book, Todd Parr explores the meaning of unconditional love in a heartfelt, playful way. Featuring a heart-shaped die-cut and sparkling silver foil on the cover, this is the perfect way to say, "I love you!" Parents and caregivers are sure to be inspired by Todd's vibrant illustrations and tender sentiments, and will enjoy sharing this very special book with the little ones they love.

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Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1

Parr's smiley-faced people are back in this ode to unconditional love. The die-cut cover, revealing a child with arms open wide framed in a heart, sets a cheery tone. Each spread describes a situation and its opposite, such as "I love you when you are scared. I love you when you are brave." As in his previous books, the author/illustrator employs a palette of primary colors outlined in black for his depictions of diverse people and objects. The drawings look like something a child could do, and will likely inspire kids to pick up markers and create their own "I Love You" pictures.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

Kirkus Reviews
"I love you when you are scared. / I love you when you are brave. / I love you when I am away. / I love you when we are cuddled up close." A characteristically multicolored cast of parents strings together declarative sentences to describe all the conditions under which they love their children, ending with, "Most of all, I love you just the way you are." Parr's entry in the Valentine's Day sweepstakes looks like every other one of his books-childlike figures with heavy black outlines, bright primary hues with little regard to real coloration-and sounds like 90 percent of the rest of the "I love you" books. Ho-hum. (Picture book. 2-5)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780316019859
  • Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
  • Publication date: 1/1/2009
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 75,181
  • Age range: 2 - 5 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.00 (w) x 9.20 (h) x 0.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Todd Parr
Todd Parr
Even if you have never seen one of his books, you may already be familiar with Todd Parr's work from seeing bedding or toys emblazoned with his bold, colorful art. With his positive, slyly humorous picture books, Parr encourages toddlers and preschools to embrace their individuality and communicate what they feel. It's nearly impossible to look at his pages and not smile, no matter what age you are.

Biography

Author/illustrator Todd Parr is the poster child for perseverance. Growing up in Wyoming, he knew he wanted to be an artist, but he met with rejection at almost every turn. In school, his drawings and paintings were considered childish and simplistic. He even failed his high school art course for not meeting class standards. As a result, for many years he lacked the self-confidence to pursue his dreams. Then, when he finally mustered the resolve to begin painting in earnest, his work was turned down by dozens of galleries.

Yet, in spite of these roadblocks, Parr persisted. He arranged a small showing of his paintings at Wolfgang Puck's San Francisco restaurant Postrio. A buyer for Macy's West saw his canvases and encouraged him to design a line of merchandise for the store. Then, in 1998, Parr's bold, colorful style caught the eye of Little Brown agent Megan Tingley, who approached him to write children's books. The rest, as they say, is publishing history.

Unlike other children's authors, Parr is not a traditional storyteller; yet his books—with their positive, reassuring messages about acceptance, self-confidence, and diversity—have become enormously popular. In bestsellers like The Family Book, We Belong Together and It's Okay to Be Different, he encourage preschoolers to be themselves, to express their feelings, and to celebrate what makes each of them unique.

But it is his artwork—cheerful stick figures rendered in bright, neon colors and outlined boldly in black—that makes Parr one of the most recognized names in the world of children's literature. The same simplicity of technique that once drew criticism has proved to be his most bankable commodity. His work has been displayed in the windows of FAO Schwartz, his products are sold worldwide, and he has won awards for his books and for his preschool television show ToddWorld. Pretty good for a kid who was thrown out of high school art class!

Good To Know

Not all of Parr's fans are eight and under—teens in Japan reportedly swamped the author on his book tour, bringing rice cookers and surfboards for signing.

Before he began his career as a children's author, Parr was a flight attendant for United Airlines.

Parr's first job was working at Taco Time for $1 an hour at age 11. "I was going to own my own someday," he said in an interview with Barnes & Noble.com. "I still love tacos. :)"

Parr gives special credit to his family for their support: "I have a very special family," he told Barnes & Noble.com. "They never really understood me, but encouraged me to go after everything I wanted even when we did not agree. As I now realize—this takes a lot of love to do."

Parr has no formal art training.

He was flabbergasted when he was approached to write children's books. "I can't even spell," he told us, "so the idea of being an 'author' never entered my mind!" Once he realized this would not be an obstacle, it cleared the way for him to focus on his artwork and the messages behind it.

When asked what kind of advice he would give to kids who want to be artists, here's what Parr told us:
Believe in yourself. Art is art even if no one else likes what you do. If it makes you happy, stay with it. Don't give up. And surround yourself with your work to remind yourself of what makes you feel good.

The message behind my work stemmed somewhat from my childhood because it was not okay for me to be who I was. I did not conform to the "norm" or want to be like everyone else. Things have not changed that much for kids today either; it seems harder for them. So in the process of doing what I'm doing in my work—enjoying my life and being happy—if I can help someone, especially kids, learn to believe in themselves, accept others, and learn not to hate, then maybe someone's life will be a little easier and maybe their dreams a little closer to coming true."

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    1. Hometown:
      Berkeley, California
    1. Date of Birth:
      July 9, 1962
    2. Place of Birth:
      Rock Springs, Wyoming
    1. Education:
      High school diploma
    2. Website:
      http://www.toddparr.com

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 87 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(40)

4 Star

(17)

3 Star

(16)

2 Star

(3)

1 Star

(11)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 88 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 26, 2011

    Definitely read this yourself

    One of the reasons for reading to children is so they learn to read with expression. The narrator of the Parr books is horrible, someone should have taught him to read better. I'm not satisfied with how much I spent for it to sound like that.

    6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 13, 2011

    Not recommended

    Yes this book has nice illustrations and it's a cute store line but DON'T buy the read-to-me ereader version. The reading is VERY dry and uneventful. I like to read to my daughter with expression and enthusiasm. This book has NONE. It has a very monotone voice and is dull and borning. I'm sorry I purchased it.

    6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 14, 2012

    Terrible narration of a cute book

    The book is cute, but the narrator is terrible. His reading is dry, expressionless, and unappealing.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 17, 2011

    read it yourself

    this is a great book; however the voice of the narrator is not appealing. he does not make the story excited. i will read this book to the kids myself. otherwise, great book.

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 5, 2011

    A loving must read!

    My son just learned to say "I love you" and reading The I Love You Book helps with him talking. We enjoy sitting together and reading out loud or just listening to the read to me option. We really enjoy this book.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 24, 2011

    Boring!

    Not worth the $7 I spent!

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 31, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Ladybug Baby Bug

    Valentine's Day Is Coming Soon

    This is an adorable picture book that's perfect for Valentine's Day. The colorful illustrations are made to look like a child would actually draw them, so they can be immediately identified by young readers. A fun and loving book.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 5, 2013

    great book about unconditional love

    I really love this book, and my three-year-old daughter does, too. The pictures are bright and simple but also communicate the different settings and emotions perfectly. The sentiment is that the mommy or daddy loves his or her child no matter what - when she's scared, brave, sick, well, sleeping, refusing to sleep, etc. I also love how the parents and children are all different colors - yellow, orange, blue, tan, etc. Highly recommended for young children!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 1, 2012

    Good bookk

    This is a good book for kidz cuz they can learn to love people!!!

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 2, 2011

    Wonderful Book!

    This is a cute book. The characters are a bit quirky at first but as you read his books they become quite enduring. My 5 yr old thought this book was funny. It is also easy enough to read that beginner readers can read it.

    I am really becoming a Todd Parr fan. His simple books send such lovely messages. I have found that books that are simple with few words speak so loudly to kids. The loud colors and outragous characters keep the kids attention also.

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  • Posted September 24, 2011

    I love you!(the book)

    This book reminds me of everyone I love-which is everyone I know!

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 13, 2011

    I love todd parr

    I love his books, this one is no exception. Reader is monotoned but my son didnt mind so who am I to complain?

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  • Posted June 12, 2011

    Reader+is+terrible.+Book+is+cute.

    My+2-year+old+daughter+and+I+like+this+book+alot+but+the+way+it+is+read+when+you+choose+%22read+to+me%22+is+less+than+dedirable.+The+reader+sounds+like+a+robot.+He+has+no+feeling+and+this+is+a+book+about+lots+of+feeling.+I+recommend+the+book+but+the+hard+version+of+it..+not+the+read+to+me+nook+version.%0A

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 27, 2011

    Love it

    My son loves this book. Helps during his down times. We bave read almost all the other books by this author. His books are fun to read and very colorful.

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  • Posted April 2, 2011

    Cute Story

    the story is super cute but the read to me voice is so monotonous it could put me to sleep!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 27, 2011

    I bought this......

    Miranda says she read it and loves me $2.13

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 25, 2011

    Don't Buy

    Love this author but the narration on this is atrocious as if the reader were on a heavy dose of cough syrup and boredom. Too bad these weren't monitored better for their entertainment value. This reader did a disservice to the overall heartfelt message of this sweet book.

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  • Posted March 14, 2011

    It's ok. Could have been better.

    Used on Nookcolor. With the 'read to me feature' the readers intonation and sound of voice was unpleasant and flat. The words were unnecessarily small for the Nook, since there aren't that many words on the page anyway. Colors and pictures pretty good. My 3 yr old grandson seemed to like it ok but he was also distracted with his first exposure to the Nook. Maybe better in a regular paper book. I could take it or leave it. A little long for the type and subject also.

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  • Posted March 14, 2011

    Cute Book, Terrible Narration

    This book is really cute to read but the narrator for the 'read to me' version is awful. My nephew, who has loved all of the read to me books so far, hated this one.

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  • Posted March 12, 2011

    Disappointed

    I didn't like this (read me) book at all. It amazes me what gets printed these days. Maybe it's the voice that makes me not like it. The voice is boring and shows no feeling at all. Maybe if a woman's voice read it, it would be better. I liked what the story was about, but it missed it's mark in the "read me" version.

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