BlooMSBury No Matter What

A little fox is in a big bad mood, and is worried that its mother won't love it forever. In this beautiful and lyrical picture book, we see a clever and resourceful mother prove to her child that a parents love is limitless - no matter what! In this reassuring and warm picture book, the hugely talented Debi Gliori manages to treat the familiar subject of childhood worries in a very fresh, original and inventive way. 'This is an instant childhood classic for anyone over the age of three.' - "Independent On Sunday". "The literary equivalent of a big hug." - "The Times". "With gentle rhyming text, humorous pictorial detail and themes which can be explored and re-explored, this is a brilliant gem of a book." - "The Guardian". Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Review Send Your Own! (Click on Images to Enlarge) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Publishers Weekly Gliori (Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep) here explores anxiety about the limits of a parent's loveAespecially whether it can survive a bout of pint-size bad behavior. With a gentle, rhyming text and illustrations that exude a snuggly warmth, she offers a reassuring, though ultimately cloying answer. As bedtime nears, a cute little fox named Small who's feeling "grim and grumpy" (and whose parent, Large, is pictured chatting on the phone) acts out by upturning the living room. When Large asks what's wrong, Small begins interrogating Large (neither character's gender is specified): "If I were a grumpy grizzly bear, would you still love me? Would you still care?" "I'd always love you, no matter what," responds Large. As in books like Lisa McCourt's I Love You, Stinky Face, the child ups the ante with unpleasant scenarios: what if Small were some other ostensibly uncuddly creature, like a squishy bug or a crocodile? "No matter what" comes the answer againAand Gliori's warmly comic depictions of Large's abiding affections drive home the unconditionality of parental love. Unfortunately, Gliori pushes her point a bit too hard with a closing treacly analogy to the light of stars: "We may be close, we may be far,/ but our love still surrounds us.../ wherever we are." Still, few authors wear their hearts on their sleeves so effectively. Ages 2-6. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.