Love You Forever [Paperback]

The mother sings to her sleeping baby: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." She still sings the same song when her baby has turned into a fractious 2-year-old, a slovenly 9-year-old, and then a raucous teen. So far so ordinary--but this is one persistent lady. When her son grows up and leaves home, she takes to driving across town with a ladder on the car roof, climbing through her grown son's window, and rocking the sleeping man in the same way. Then, inevitably, the day comes when she's too old and sick to hold him, and the roles are at last reversed. Each stage is illustrated by one of Sheila McGraw's comic and yet poignant pastels. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

There are certain books about a parent's unconditional love for a child that are timeless--and this is one of them. (Baltimore's Child 20100120)

One of my all-time favorites. I cry every time I read it.... [The book] is a beautiful script about parenthood, a poignant parable about life and death, a testimony to when the roles of child and parent become blurry. The story reminds you that no matter how grown up you are, you're always someone's child; that no matter how "adult" you are, you're never too old to be loved by your parents. It makes me appreciate even more how my mother still calls me and my brother (despite us being 32- and 22-years-old, respectively) by our childhood nicknames, Pussycat and Tchotchke (Yiddish for "knickknack"). Pigeonholing this as a children's book is like saying "Romeo & Juliet" is merely a cautionary tale about drug abuse. I dare anyone to read this story and not shed at least one tear by the end. It's even more poignant when you learn that Munsch wrote the book as a memorial to two still-born children he and his wife had in 1979 and 1980. (Dana Lenetz Forbes 20100420)

The one book that has the most meaning to me. (David Maloof Boston Globe 20020915)

There is a powerful, age-old resonance to the story, centered on that intangible, steadfast bond between mother and child. (Shelley Fralic National Post 20060515)

No one can read this without the tears falling. (Sharon Owen Madera Tribune 20030508)

The best of Munsch's many storybooks... it'll give you a new song to sing... and maybe a bit of perspective down the road. (Leanne Dohy Calgary Herald 20030925)

The starting point for a first-rate library for your grandchildren... a tender ode to the life cycle of a family. (John Lownsbrough Outlook Magazine 200406)

Sentimental story that has long been a favorite gift at baby showers. (Karen T.Bilton Bridgewater Courier News 20050426)

This best-selling classic of a parent's enduring love is available in a gift edition: slipcased with a laminated box and a clothbound book. (BookPage 200611)

A humorous, sentimental page-turner that rarely -- let's say never -- leaves a reader with a dry eye. (Gayle MacDonald Globe and Mail 20051201)

My children and I enjoyed it, night after night, for years... It is a charmer. The simple story touches the heart. (Jeith L. Runyon Louisville Courier-Journal 20051113)

#5 on Instructor's "Teachers Pick the Top 50 Kids Books Ever", chosen by 200 teachers, authors, and children's literature experts. (Instructor 20061101)

Robert Munsch's beloved tale is gentle affirmation of the love a parent feels for her child -- forever. Nurtured by the unconditional love of his parent, a boy grows happily through the stages of childhood to become, in turn, a loving adult. (BookPage 20080104)

This book is beyond emotional. I dare any mother out there, or any child with an aging parent, to read this story and not have a lump in your throat... Should definitely be apart of your child's book collection. (community.cafelibri.com 20100701)