THAT'S ME LOVING YOU

Rosenthal describes the love an adult caregiver has for a child as expressed through nature metaphors.

Most of White’s striking artwork—highly detailed, retro-style designs—highlights a single child on each page, so Rosenthal’s verses about an adult always being close by are comforting. “That shimmering star? / That’s me winking at you,” and “That inviting ocean? / That’s me waving at you.” The adult narrator raves about a child with a thunderclap, a mosquito’s buzz is “me bugging you,” and the pouring rain is “me missing you.” The first two spreads feature the same brown-haired, light-skinned boy setting out independently, as children are meant to do. (The pages in between feature children of both genders in a multitude of skin and hair colors.) He is joined in two of the last three spreads by his similar-looking mother: “That feeling you always have in your heart? / That’s me loving you. // Whether together… // Or apart.” From the wind to a butterfly to a cloud, the breeze, and a star, Rosenthal has covered most of the natural world, so no matter where children wander, there are reminders of their loving adults everywhere.

Combine this with a kissing hand, and children will be ready to set off on their own to explore the world, safe in the knowledge that they are loved.