I'll Love You Till the Crocodiles Smile

August 1, 2024

PreS-K-From the creators of I'll Love You Till the Cows Come Home comes another entry where animal stand-ins help convey the feelings of love between human caregivers and children. Throughout this rhyming title, readers are shown various animals in a variety of activities as the text highlights how the narrator will love the individual reading no matter what happens. What distinguishes this title from similar entries is the amount of humor in the illustrations and text; on one page, chimpanzees sneeze while picking fleas out of each other's backs and exaggerate their use of tissues. Against muted colors used in the background, the animals, with eyes right out of Jon Klassen's playbook, are front and center. Children will enjoy spotting the silly antics that the animals in the background get up to, following along with the main narrative. VERDICT A sweetly fulfilling addition to shelves of enduring, unconditional love of the caregiver/child relationship books.-Maria Graybosch

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2024
The creators of I'll Love You Till the Cows Come Home (2018) offer another entry in the love-you-forever genre that's more fantastical than sickly sweet. Rather than farm animals, this book features jungle creatures: kayaking crocs, rhinos striking dynamic poses "on a fancy float with sparkly bow," and chimps sneezing due to "clouds of globe-trotting fleas." The gentler rhythms of the rhyming text and the ending partially balance the adrenaline jolt of the outlandish situations; a look at the various species bedding down or relaxing for the night returns bedtime readers to the calm and familiar. "I will love you forever and forever and more... // as the giraffes sway slowly on a swing beneath the stars, / swishing softly through the moonbeams / up to Mercury and Mars." Litten's mixed-media digital illustrations play up the humor; the snakes wear tiny helmets (safety first!), the baby boars' antics will elicit chuckles from readers of any age, and many parents will envy the giraffes' spa day. While a few word choices make a couple of the situations nonsensical (the elephants are "stuck in traffic by the rubber tree plants," though actually they are next to the plants, waiting for the sloths to cross the road), young readers likely won't notice. A refreshingly creative bedtime tale--and a solid choice for those who march to their own drummers. (Picture book. 2-6)

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