I Love You, Mouse

by John Graham, Tomie dePaola (illustrator)

Tomie dePaola’s appealing art perfectly complements John Graham’s rhythmic text spoken by a little boy to the animals he loves, beginning with a mouse who he tells he would take care of with a furry nest and a nibble of cheese. He goes on to a kitten, a puppy, a lamb, a bunny, and other familiar baby animals until it is getting dark and his father picks him up and gently and lovingly puts him to bed.

Just right for reading to the very young at bedtime or anytime, this long out-of-print title now reappears in a larger format, re-illustrated in beautiful colors by Tomie dePaola.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Family, Love

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

See also:
John Graham*, Leadership, Memoirs
John Graham*, Children's Books
John Graham*, author Voidstalker series
John Graham, BBC audio serials
John Graham, 1776-1844
John Graham, 1813-1845
John Graham, 1822-1879
John Graham, Amazon and Kindle Help
John Graham, author Plantation Theory
John Graham, dating
John Graham, 1648–1689

Authors marked with an asterisk (*) are Goodreads authors.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love you, mouse . . . kitten . . . puppy . . . piglet . . . chicky . . . lamb . . . cub . . . tadpole . . . duckling . . . gosling . . . bunny . . . owlet . . . .

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In this gentle bedtime tale, a young boy imagines what he would do with each of the animals. The love and joy for each animal is evident in the gentle narrative. Pictures that gradually darken, showing from light to dark, illustrate each of the animals and the things they might do with the boy.

Charming, delightful, perfect for sharing any time.

Highly recommended.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy is fond of baby animals, and each one he loves he imagines he is like them and how he can care for them as an adult one of them. The illustrations are fabulous as the boy says he loves mouse, kitten, puppy, piglet, chicky, lamb, bear cub, tadpole, duckling, gosling, bunny, owlet. Then he himself is loved as a child by his parents.
This is a sweet story for children, especially when it is easing into quiet time or bed time.

[Sylvia Huber · Rating 2 out of 5]

It bothers me a bit that every animal is addressed by its baby name (chicky, lamb, tadpole), except in the title line. Also, mice may build their own nests, but pigs don’t build their own pens or lambs their own folds. The pattern of the little rhyme didn’t apply well to the barnyard animals. And did anyone else find the first appearance of the dad in the background a bit creepy?

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a precious book for infants and toddlers. A little boy tells different animals how much he loves them. Tomi dePaola’s illustrations are so darling in this one.

* library book. Read at 19months

[Lisa Yee Swope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a neat way to share "love languages" with a little one -- what shows love to one kind of critter is different from how one would love another kind. Not everyone can receive love the same way, but the goal is connection in whatever form it takes.

[Ella Sackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story embedded in this book about how we can show love in different ways. This would be great to use in a classroom to talk about how students can show love to one another and the teacher in different ways.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet bed time book in which the author declares their love for different animals describing how they would take care of the listener if they were both cats, dogs, bears, etc. until the end when the human parent tucks in the human child.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg so sweet. The B&W Voyager pb that I found at an LFL is delightful enough, but the rerelease that might be available in your library is probably even more worth checking out if you like rhythmic bedtime books aimed at young families.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

sufficiently boring to put most any child to sleep, but unlikely to be any child's choice.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are adorable, with each page giving a little peek into what happens next.

[Rodney Sloan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down my favourite children's book ever. Our copy is well-loved.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

10/5/22 Read with Charlotte

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy muses on how he loves various animals. A lovely picture book featuring great illustrations by Tomie dePaola.

[Spudpuppy · Rating 5 out of 5]

so sweet it made my tummy hurt

[Kristanne Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book! The little boy starts out by telling the baby mouse that he loves him. He then tells the mouse what he would do to help him and take care of him. He continues this with many other baby animals such as a kitten, a puppy, a duck, a lamb, and many more. Finally, the story ends with the boys father telling him that he loves him and will always take care of him. I liked that the story calls all of the animals by the proper name for their babies. Such as a baby goose is called a gosling. I thought this is a great way to introduce some new and interesting vocabulary. A simple but adorable story!

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Tomi, what's not to love? A very old book reissued a few years ago, and timeless indeed. It took me a few reads to discover that in each spread there is hiding the animal that will be found in the following spread. I love picture books with surprises...an old-school style "interactive book"--only laps (no batteries) required.

(Fellow picture-book nerds: check out the credits page for how the art was recolorized for the later edition)

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This simple tale features a little boy telling all of the farm animals how much he loves them and the things he would do with them if he were an animal. It ends with a parent telling the little boy how much he loves him and putting him to bed. Each page features a new animal and a short verse with the same beginning. Children will learn vocabulary about different animals and anticipate the beginning of each verse. This would be a great bed time book.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Graham has created a wonderful story about love and caring for others. Reading this book always leaves a smile on my face.

Tomie dePaola's illustrations add enchantment to Graham's magic words. The black & white color scheme really allow the story to come out without distraction. This story is pure delight. =)

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tomie dePaola�s appealing art perfectly complements John Graham�s rhythmic text spoken by a little boy to the animals he loves, beginning with a mouse who he tells he would take care of with a furry nest and a nibble of cheese. He goes on to a kitten, a puppy, a lamb, a bunny, and other familiar baby animals until it is getting dark and his father picks him up and gently a...

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not, brace yourself, a fan of Tomie dePaola. I find the colors too dull for me and it's quite frankly hard to get past that sometimes and in this case the text is not strong enough for me to overlook the lack-luster illustrations.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

24 months - The story isn't overly special but it's cute, easy to read and appealing. This could be a good book for signing animals. I always ask Olivia to find who's hiding in the picture (which foreshadows the next page).

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle book demonstrating how the little boy will show all the animals he encounters that he loves them. In the end, he is shown that he is also the object of much love as well. A sweet read with a very clear love theme that children will find very appealing.

[Audra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, sweet story that is just perfect for my 2-year-old. She has already memorized it and is "reading" it to herself. The illustrations are simple, but nice. I love that it focuses on the nice things you can do, for animals and people. This is a keeper!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB 7: I thought this book was sweet. I like how the child loves all animals and would do things that animal specifically likes if he were one too. The book has the repetitive phrase "I love you" and then animals named. It is a good book to read and then have kids make their own I love you books.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book about loving one another. My daughter loves the last page so much that she wants me to repeat it to her right before she goes to sleep.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute.

[Leighanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so cute. It was illustrated by my favorite children's author/illustrator, Tomie dePaola.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my most favorite bedtime stories for the kids.

[Alexandria K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love. I love you Mouse. I loved the part where he said,"I love you, cub," and also the part where he said,"I love you, owlet."

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was read as the story at play group today. It has popular topics merged together - I love you's and animals. Its still a nice read, though.