Love Is You & Me

by Monica Sheehan, Monica Sheehan (Illustrator)

Overview

Playful and fun, constant and everywhere, love fills the pages of this buoyant picture book for adorers of all ages.

Love is me, and love is you.
You see, when you smile I smile too.
When you’re around, the skies are blue.
It’s like being happy…times two!

This adorable book by bestselling author Monica Sheehan helps us to remember that love—whether between a parent and child, best friends, or even a dog and a mouse—is the most wonderful offering of all. Love Is You & Me. is a vibrant, uplifting title that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day or any time of the year.

An ideal gift for loved ones, this jacketed hardcover edition contains the same text as the board book, along with a bookplate and two additional spreads of artwork.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442436077
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	12/03/2013
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	165,492
Product dimensions:	8.42(w) x 8.16(h) x 0.42(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Monica Sheehan is the eleventh child in a large, boisterous family and learned early on to use humor as a survival skill. She nurtured her artistic talent while working as, among other things, a chimney sweep. She has illustrated twelve books and coauthored two. Monica lives on the Jersey shore.

Monica Sheehan is the eleventh child in a large, boisterous family and learned early on to use humor as a survival skill. She nurtured her artistic talent while working as, among other things, a chimney sweep. She has illustrated twelve books and coauthored two. Monica lives on the Jersey shore.

Editorial Reviews

Love is a smile in your heart, a gift you give and a place where you always belong. Sheehan used simple child-like drawings and rich primary colors to introduce the reader to a pen and ink drawing of a floppy-eared dog and a stylish little grey mouse who are best friends. The two have discovered the true meaning of love, whether between friends, parents and children, or even and dog and a mouse. The double-page spreads show the pair at the beach, playing together on a trampoline, dancing and listening to music, reading together. The author has included some rhyming words in her text but this is not a rhyming book. An example is "love is sweet, love is grand, sometimes love is just holding hands." In the style of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The Giving Tree, this is a book to be read by young readers at one level and by adults at a different one. This would be a good Valentine gift for young children or for adults. This gift book could also be used for anniversaries, births or weddings. This one deserves a look as a gift item but probably will not merit budget expenditures for limited budgets. Reviewer: Joyce Rice

Children's Literature - Joyce Rice

This buoyant board book celebrates the love between an exuberant dog (that starred in Sheehan's Be Happy! A Little Book for a Happy You) and a gray mouse. The loosely outlined animals ride in a car ("When you're around the skies are blue./ It's like being happy! Times two"), sit on a city rooftop watching heart-shaped fireworks, roast marshmallows in the woods, and curl up under the covers at night ("Love is the place... where you always belong"). Sheehan avoids casting her duo in parent-child roles, giving this book added potential as a gift between adults. Ages 2–5. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

The tone is set on the title page where the reader sees a cartoon mouse and dog dancing onto the "stage" of the book, sporting top hats and canes—the minimalistic sketches revealing their delight in entertaining each other as well as the reader. "Love will catch you...when you fall" is the text on one of the double spreads in this paean to love shared. The illustration on that page shows the little mouse character upside-down heading into a heart-shaped trampoline which is being held by two paws—the paws belong to the cartoon dog, the humor as reassuring as the idea that the loving partner will always be there. Sheehan has obviously avoided giving the reader any hint as to the relationship of the two cartoon creatures...could be two friends, could be parent and child, could be just an example of unconditional love between two creatures (even humans!?!). They are sublimely happy sharing a pink frothy drink on the page that says the "Love is sweet." Mouse is perched on the napkin holder for height to reach the second straw. The fun aspect of love is seen as they share a wild roller coaster ride, shrieking joyously together. They are seldom apart but when they are they are careful to stay in touch and the reader sees their telephone "connection." The support they offer each other in times of trouble is a great bond between them. A heart-shaped star constellation is visible on the page that says "Love is the place...where you always belong." Summing up the book with "because Love is you & me" brings the book back to its title, having shared many aspects of what it means to truly share a loving relationship. A perfect gift book for Valentine's Day or any day someone needs to know that love exists. Also a good addition to any library. Reviewer: Sheilah Egan

Children's Literature - Sheilah Egan

02/01/2014
PreS-Gr 3—Line-drawn mouse and hound canoodle from rooftops to beaches, winter camp to trampoline, celebrating a togetherness that can transcend distance. The energetic pair dominates spare vignettes, which are often decorated in hearts. The text banks on adages like "Love is the place where you always belong." and "Love will catch you when you fall." Visually adorable, the book is an extended valentine, best appreciated by all romantics.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

School Library Journal