Title: I Love You with All My Heart

Written and Illustrated by: Jane Chapman

Published by: Frances Lincoln

I Love You with All My Heart is a lovely sentimental picture book about the unconditional love between a mother and her child. Little Bear breaks her Mum’s favourite flower whilst playing and is worried Mum will be angry. Mum explains that she loves her no matter what. There are several memorable lines that will reassure and help young children throughout the good times and the bad times. My favourite being:

“My love will always be with you, wherever you are.”

Mum’s reassuring words help Little bear when she loses the race and when her kite sails away and again when she slips in the muddy puddle. At the end there is a heart-melting twist when Mum is upset she has burnt the cake and baby bear says the iconic line:

“Even when things go wrong, I still love you.”

Little Bear has truly learnt the meaning of unconditional love.

Jane Chapman’s illustrations support her text and portray Little Bear’s emotions perfectly from the joy of playing drums with Mum’s pots and pans, to the look of concern when the sunflower stem snaps and the sheer determination when she manages to retrieve her kite from the tree. I particularly like the end pages which show Little Bear’s house in the woods and you can see the balcony and the sunflower. When you turn to the title page and first spread you can then see the balcony and pot garden close up. This was a great touch that I think children will enjoy exploring.

A beautiful book to read aloud at story and bedtimes, which young children will want to hear it again and again.

I Love You with All My Heart by Jane Chapman is available to buy through all bookshops, large or small, and all the usual outlets online.