Anita Jeram

Little Nutbrown Hare and his father, Big Nutbrown Hare, have what at first glance seems like a love competition in this sweet reassurance tale from Northern Irish author Sam McBratney and English illustrator Anita Jeram. As the younger hare declares his love, only to be continually outdone by his elder - "I love you as high as I can reach," the son says, but his father can reach higher - it gradually emerges that the two are enacting a bedtime ritual in which their mutual love is reaffirmed, show more all while the elder tacitly signals his protection, and the younger his admiration.

A contemporary classic for young children, Guess How Much I Love You was originally published in 1994, and is a book I have read many times over the years, although I am only now (in 2016) getting around to recording my response to it. This edition is a 20th Anniversary one, and contains a brief note from both author and illustrator. I've always loved this gentle tale, with its humorous and indulgent papa hare, and its cute-as-a-button hare son. McBratney perfectly captures their back and forth, just as Anita Jeram captures their loving bond in her charming ink and watercolor illustrations. I particularly love the contrasts between Big and Little Nutbrown Hare, as they gesticulate. Recommended most highly to anyone looking for reassurance tales for younger children! show less

I'm not the biggest fan of Guess How Much I Love You, but this book caught my eye during a volunteer shift and I gave it a try. The illustrations are soft and attractive and appealing--hard to resist.

The story was utterly adorable. Little bunny has a snuggly bunny mommy and two friends he plays with. He gets lost and wants his mommy (at which point my mind went full on Disney movie and was convinced she was dead and gone). But she finds him and snuggles him all over. Cutest mommy and baby show more bunny moment ever! show less

I found this book to be very simple but very powerful. There are three baby bears that are referred to as the most wonderful baby bears in the whole wide world but by being told so they began to wonder what if one was better than the other. These are all questions that siblings have wondered. My sister is only 16 months older than me and I know we always used to fight over who mom's favorite was. This book is a fantastic gateway to talk about this topic. I mentioned earlier that I loved how show more simple this book was and that goes for the illustrations. Each bear is just a little different but that changes everything in the world for them. One of the bears mentioned that 'I'm only the littlest, everybody is bigger than me!' and he worried that that may be the reason why he wouldn't be the favorite. I can see this being a very important and special nighttime book to young readers. show less

GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU is a cute children's book that is about how much a young bunny and his parent loves each other. The book is predictable because it continues to say how much they love each other. I love how it goes back and forth from the child saying that they love the parent as much as their arms can reach and then the parent says the same thing back and the young bunny thinks about how big that is compared to his and tries to figure out something that is bigger. This continues show more until the little bunny finally gets tired and lays down for bed. Throughout this book the pictures are very sweet. They do not take up the whole page, and are very simply colored. The pictures add to the simplicity of the topic of love that is shown throughout the book. I would use this in a preschool classroom with a child who misses their parents or who is trying to lay down and fall asleep. show less