And I Love You

by Ruth Krauss, Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)

A classic story reimagined with fanciful brilliance

With comforting simplicity and gentle rhythms, Ruth Krauss celebrates the expansiveness of love between a parent and a child. In Steven Kellogg's luminous illustrations, a cat and her kitten discover the excitement and intimacy of sharing stories. As the pages turn and the landscapes evolve from forests to fields to sweeping ocean vistas, the tender bond that unites the cat and her kitten is deepened and enriched, making And I Love You an enchanting gift that will warm hearts both big and little.

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Ruth Ida Krauss was an American writer of children's books, including The Carrot Seed, and of theatrical poems for adult readers.

Reviews

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those illustrations by Steven Kellogg really ARE luminous, just as the publisher said.

Regarding for the writing by Ruth Krauss -- the wife of Crockett Johnson, author of my childhood favorites, "Harold and His Purple Crayon" and also "Barnaby." (Both reviewed here on Goodreads.) As for the writing by that Ruth Krauss...

Oh, the words here are so original. Every time I turn the page, something new resonates in my heart. Unquestionably this is...

THE BEST LOVE STORY I'VE SEEN YET IN A PICTURE BOOK
As if written by one of the sweetest mothers ever,
One who could look into a young child's facial expressions,
feel each touch of the small hand,
and unflaggingly identify that child's very particular repertoire of 1,001 different kinds of tears....
Ruth Krauss must have been that kind of mother, someone who
would quietly look and feel and always, somehow, keep on loving her child.

FIVE STARS, no struggle to give all I have to give. Also, I've just added a quote from Ruth in this book to Goodreads, that one quote being my very favorite from "And I Love You" (among many contenders).

[Juushika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Krauss story with new art (this was originally Big and Little, illus. Mary Szilagyi), and again I wish I could read it with the original illustrations because this is such a sparse--although effective--narrative that the atmosphere and tone is effectively carried by the art, and Kellogg's work is bold: vibrant, textured, expansive, distractingly busy; clever details flow between panels and pull out bits of the narrative; the lumpy, furry protagonists and even-more-creepy monkeys are frankly dumbfounding. I'd be fascinating to see another take on it, because the art is the best and worst (those monkeys! why!) of the book, but also overwhelms it.

[Caroline Pino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a little boy who witnesses the animals and trees around him growing and wants to grow too. The book incorporates montages in order to demonstrate the sequence of growth throughout the story. An enchanting book that would help a child understand growth and what it means and how long it takes in order to grow yourself.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--I'm a fan of Krauss's surrealism, and the illustrations are a lot of fun. I especially loved some of the more bizarre imagery, such as the massive book that the mama cat and kitten could fly around in. Nice use of color, too.

[Lizanell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations by Kellogg more than the story.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the beautiful illustrations! The text is poetic, but I have trouble relating to this type of text.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd one; some of these pages are beautifully illustrated while others are clunky, weird, or downright creepy (looking at you, monkeys!). I wish I'd liked it more.

[Miss Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

As much as I like Kellogg's art, the prose of this story was not engaging or interesting and really offered nothing.

[Caleb Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Choppy, meaningless text, and frankly creepy illustrations at points--particularly illustrations of monkeys, which look more like bald, ill-proportioned people--not Kellogg's typical pictorial charm.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of this book is good. Big things love little things. And Parents love their children.

*Talking points - What else is big that loves little things?

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't want to give this a bad rating but neither of us liked it. The only reason I'm giving it two stars is because I suppose it'd be okay to read to a baby. As in, an infant.
Even when Julia was very young we read more complex stories. I can't help but wonder if that's why she loves reading so much? I wonder if I had cracked open a bunch of books with a total of about 8 words each if she'd love it as much as she does? Me think probably not.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving this book 3 stars instead of 2 because I love the illustrations. The writing was weak, but my daughter and I loved looking at the pictures and talking about the details that are so characeristic of Steven Kellogg.

I loved the lines "big stories... love... little words to fly around in" and the accompanying illustratioin. I would love to make that page and that image my library brand. So beautiful and perfect.

I wish the whole book was as good as those pages!

[Rakisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, the wide-eyed and wide-faced kittens make me feel maternal. I get warm fuzzy feelings inside that remind me of when my daughters were little toddlers and loved to be snuggled. Actually, they still love to be snuggled but don't respond to my baby talk as much anymore. The colors are warm, goldend, rich and inviting, and the illustrations are whimisical. The book demonstrates the enormity of the love a parent has for a child. You'll want to hug someone after you read this book.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I LOVED LOVED the pictures like I always love Steven Kelloggs' illustrations. My problem was the words to the pictures. My four year old didn't understand and I kinda struggled to try and explain the words to her. I'm assuming it has to do with the love between a parent and child through books...

[Arielle Feist]

I really enjoyed this book. Steven Kellogg did a fantastic job with the illustrations. And how can you not love the message of the story? "Big forests love little trees, Big fields love little flowers, Big monkeys love little monkeyshines, And I love you." The fact that this book can be shared with your loved ones is something I cannot get past. Every child should have the chance to read this!

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea is good but the text seems odd with the wonderful illustrations
Simple, rhythmic text follows a mother cat and her kitten as they discover the love of big forests for little trees, big skies for little skyscrapers, and parents for their children.

[Elie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story line is not good and it doesn't follow through in the way that it begins.

However, I'm giving this book 5 stars nonetheless, because it has lots of balloons and cats. At 2 I don't really care about the story line and this book really fits the bill.

[Alisha Koc · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poetry is a bit too minimal for my liking and teetering on boring. It will have a short stay at my home from the library. However, the illustrations are very good and I wanted to show my child that at the very least.

[Kari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kind of just love anything Steven Kellogg does. ;)

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was okay...the word selection a bit random but the message of unconditional love clear. Illustrations bind the phrases together to present a sweet and calming bedtime read.

[J. Robin Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is great.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a big, big world out there and Mother Cat loves her little one.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the concept of big things loving little things. Very cute.

Illustrations could have been better.