Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems

by Eloise Greenfield, Diane Dillon, Leo Dillon

Overview

A young girl tells of the simple joys of everyday life in 16 poems that touch the important aspects of a child's life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812445527
Publisher:	Harpercollins Childrens Books
Publication date:	09/01/1986
Series:	Reading Rainbow Series
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Eloise Greenfield's love of writing shines through brilliantly in each and every one of her books, which include Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems and How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea, both illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. She is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, the Foundation for Children's Literature Hope S. Dean Award, and the National Council for the Social Studies Carter G. Woodson Book Award. Ms. Greenfield lives in Washington, DC. You can follow her on Twitter @ELGreenfield.

Two-time Caldecott-winning illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon have illustrated over 25 books for children, and have received many honors, including two Coretta Scott King Awards and the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. They live in Brooklyn, NY.

Read an Excerpt

By Myself

When I'm by myself
And I close my eyes
I'm a twin
I'm a dimple in a chin
I'm a room full of toys
I'm a squeaky noise
I'm a gospel song
I'm a gong
I'm a leaf turning red
I'm a loaf of brown bread
I'm a whatever I want to be
An anything I care to be
And when I open my eyes
What I care to be
Is me

Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems. Copyright ? by Eloise Greenfield. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Editorial Reviews

Abounds with that special tenderness surrounding the everyday experiences in a child's life. These poems beg to be read aloud.

Boston Globe

Greenfield brings her poetic vision of family love to young children in this book. Written for new readers, the book is filled with evocative images like the way a cousin from the South talks so "every word he says just kind of slides out of his mouth." Greenfield supports young readers with a song-like rhythmic words, images they can relate too, and a nurturing spirit that echoes in the ending refrain, "I love a lot of things,/ a whole lot of things/ And honey,/ I love ME, too." 1994 (orig.

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

The images of a young girl's life shimmer in these fifteen free verse poems. Evident here in Greenfield's lyrical style, which has been applauded in her many books for children. 1995 (orig.

Children's Literature - Mary Quattlebaum

PreS-Gr 1-Honey, I Love, the title poem from Greenfield's popular 1978 collection (HarperCollins), and On My Horse, a new poem, are filled with full-color illustrations featuring African Americans. The two simple stories describe a young girl's favorite summer activities and a boy's riding fantasy as he is led around on a gentle horse. The verses are simple, with flowing language and limited rhyme and repetition. Gilchrist's pictures fill the pages with large realistic portraits brimming with the warmth and pleasures of childhood. Their size and clarity make these books good candidates for toddler and preschool story hours as well as for one-on-one sharing.-Gale W. Sherman, Pocatello Public Library, ID

School Library Journal

Iffy art cramps this 25th-anniversary reissue of the joyful title poem from Greenfield?s first collection (1978), illustrated by the Dillons. As timeless as ever, the poem celebrates everything a child loves, from kissing Mama?s warm, soft arm to listening to a cousin from the South, " ?cause every word he says / just kind of slides out of his mouth." "I love a lot of things / a whole lot of things," the narrator concludes, "And honey, / I love ME, too." The African-American child in the pictures sports an updated hairstyle and a big, infectious grin—but even younger viewers will notice that the spray of cool water that supposedly "stings my stomach" isn?t aimed there, and that a comforter on the child?s bed changes patterns between pages. More problematic, though, is a dropped doll that suddenly acquires a horrified expression that makes it look disturbingly like a live baby, and the cutesy winged fairy that hovers over the sleeping child in the final scene. The poem deserves better. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews