Genre: Picture Book
Author(s): Sally Lloyd-Jones
Illustrator(s): Frank Endersby
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: 12/27/2011
Hard cover Price: $16.99
Pages: 32
Reading Level: 3-7
Read Aloud: 3
Read Alone: 5
Other Choices: Guess How Much I Love You, I Love You Always and Forever, A Giant Crush
Synopsis: Fun look at a father's unconditional love great for bedtime.
Common Sense Rates It:
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that this warm picture book about the nature of parental love is perfect for read-aloud and not sappy at all. Kids really do wonder sometimes why their mom or dad loves them. This book gives a very honest and appropriate answer without being saccharine.
- Families can talk about what it's like to love a family member no matter what -- even if someone makes a mistake or irriates us momentarily.
- Familes can also talk about how the illustrator portrayed the squirrels' life. Does it look like it's fun to be a squirrel?
What's the story?
Little Red Squirrel and his dad are playing "in the big wood" when the dad asks him, "Did I tell you today that I love you?" The youngster asks, "Because why?" He wonders, as he page by page demonstrates his many skills for his father, if it's because he runs so fast, is so good at finding berries, can climb so high, is friendly, etc. After each question, Dad says no, that's not why. Then finally, when they're back home, as he tucks his son into his cozy nest that night, he tells him, "I love you just because you're mine."
Is it any good?
JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE is refreshingly different for spotlighting a father's unconditional love, when so many books like this focus on the love between mother and child. It's illustrated in the same soft pastels that books of this ilk tend to favor, but it has tremendous energy, thanks to Little Red Squirrel's tireless antics as he shows off all his skills. The sweet tone and sleepy climax make it a perfect read-aloud for bedtime.
The Good Stuff
Messages: Parents love their children for who they are and their relationship to them, not for what they do or achieve.
Educational Value: Kids see the woodland habitat of squirrels.
Role Models: The father squirrel is loving, patient, tender, affectionate and fun to be with. His offspring is inquisitive, adventurous, openhearted, and and loving.
What to watch out for
Violence & scariness: Not an issue
Language: Not an issue
