February 19, 2017

LOVE IS

Love Is by Diane Adams and Claire Keane is a solidly, beautiful book. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the rhyming text -- which I usually steer clear of but love in this book -- carries readers right through the story at an energetic pace.


Love Is tells the story of a girl who adopts an abandoned duckling and raises it for a year on her own. The girl endures early mornings, cleaning up after her new pet, and messy bath times, and she quickly learns what it means to care for another. We as readers watch the girl grow to understand when to hold on and when to let go, and it's humbling to watch this girl voluntarily put her own desires on hold for the good another.


The text and illustrations are constructed in a fascinating way. It's almost as if they run parallel to each other, existing separately, yet telling the same story. While the text describes love in a more definitive sense -- what is love? What form does it take? What does loving another look like? -- the Photoshop illustrations show readers a specific example of love, in the form of the girl and her duckling. It's as if we're reading two love stories combined into one, and it's beautiful. The story we read about and the story we see are tender and compassionate, and it's just wonderful to experience how they come together to give us one cohesive look at this relationship. 


And you should check out my Instagram feed to see the case cover reveal -- it's beautiful!

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