Love you forever, by Robert Munsch - a bookwrap

   Today I am going to review the book I will be reading at my mother's funeral tomorrow.  If you have never heard of it and haven't read it you really must.  It is one of those books that you cannot read without a lump in your throat or tears being shed.  The love of a mother and child are timeless .... forever and for always.

Unwrapping...

Written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Sheila McGraw

Ages:  Timeless



Unwrapping some illustrations for you to enjoy...

Unwrapping a beautiful story...

This book started as a song in the author's head as a tribute to his two stillborn babies.  The songs wouldn't go away so he decided to make it into a storybook to share it with others.  It is one of my all time favourite books in the whole world and I will be reading it tomorrow as my mother's funeral comes to a close.  

According to Amazon... (this book has 4,367 reviews, 50 formats and editions and in multiple languages, can you believe it?  So why re-invent the wheel) this is the content of the book from Amazon itself.

A young woman holds her newborn son

And looks at him lovingly.

Softly she sings to him:

"I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be."

So begins the story that has touched the hearts of millions worldwide. Since publication in l986, Love You Forever has sold more than 15 million copies in paperback and the regular hardcover edition (as well as hundreds of thousands of copies in Spanish and French)

Amazon.com Review

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.

Review

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 2010-01-20)

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 2010-04-20)

The one book that has the most meaning to me. (David Maloof Boston Globe 2002-09-15)

There is a powerful, age-old resonance to the story, centered on that intangible, steadfast bond between mother and child. (Shelley Fralic National Post 2006-05-15)

No one can read this without the tears falling. (Sharon Owen Madera Tribune 2003-05-08)

The best oAbout thf 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 2003-09-25)

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)

Sentimental story that has long been a favorite gift at baby showers. (Karen T.Bilton Bridgewater Courier News 2005-04-26)

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)

A humorous, sentimental page-turner that rarely -- let's say never -- leaves a reader with a dry eye. (Gayle MacDonald Globe and Mail 2005-12-01)

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 2008-01-04)

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 2005-11-13)

#5 on Instructor's "Teachers Pick the Top 50 Kids Books Ever", chosen by 200 teachers, authors, and children's literature experts. (Instructor 2006-11-01)

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 2010-07-01)

About the author...

Robert 

MRobert Munsch, beloved children's author and storyteller, was born the fourth of nine children on June 11, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He published his first children's book, Mud Puddle, in 1979. Since then, Munsch has sold over 30 million books and become Canada's best-selling children's author. He lives with his wife, Ann, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and has three adopted children, Julie, Andrew, and Tyya.

About the illustrator...

Sheila McGraw has been a prolific painter of portraits throughout her thirty-plus year career which has encompassed many facets of commercial and fine art. From 1970 to 1990 she was an in-demand illustrator creating packaging art, national advertising, fashion and editorial illustration.

In 1986 her career segued into illustrating and/or writing thirteen children's picture and craft books, including many bestsellers. Her extensive experience of conducting business with clients while producing quality artwork to deadline, uniquely qualifies her to deliver high quality paintings to deadline, for commissions, showings, and public installations.

Sheila McGraw is a member of The Portrait Society of America, The National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society, The Art League of Houston and The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake.

There will be no blog post tomorrow as I will out of the city and away from books, computers and reviews.  Hopefully will be back on Wednesday if I don't get stranded by a huge snowstorm and have to remain overnight until it clears.  Have an awesome day everyone and please remember me in your thoughts and prayers as I will surely need them to get me through.  Thank you in advance.

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Read on and read always!

It's a wrap.