I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH

Murphy’s picture book of questions and answers reinforces the no-matter-what promise of a caregiver’s love.

Toddler Lee, who has fair skin and brown hair, asks their mother, “How much do you love me?” The mother promises that she loves Lee “as much as all of the leaves on all of the trees, in all of the forests.” But what if the leaves fall, Lee wonders? The mother responds with further promises, each one based on nature, as Lee asks what-if questions meant to stump their parent. Lee’s mother never gets stuck, though—she pivots each time, describing another natural wonder, until finally she says that even if all of nature vanished, she would still love Lee that much—and Lee agrees that they love their mother that much, too. The author uses the same repeated phrases, but the subtle context changes—from a certainty to a what-if and then back to a promise—make each use feel fresh. The continued use of similar phrasing makes this a perfect read-aloud choice for toddlers, especially those who constantly ask what-if questions, who can chime in on each occurrence. Murphy’s full-color digital art is also repeated, in concert with the text; while in some books that sort of reuse feels lazy, here it effectively reiterates the theme and the depth of the mother’s love.

A comforting cadence of promises well suited to bedtime reading.