Children's Book Week & Mother's Day

"Children's Book Week" began on Monday May 2 and ends on Sunday, May 8th otherwise known as Mother's Day. 

Do you think it's a coincidence that "Children's Book Week" ends on Mother's Day?  I don't!
As mothers, we read to our children when they were young.  As grandmothers, we read to our grandchildren when they were young.  And always, always, we tried to instill upon them the importance of reading.

Whenever I'm asked about my favorite children's book, I have to answer "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.  I often wonder if the author (and the publisher for that matter) ever dreamed about how popular this book would  become.  To date it has reportedly sold over 1 million hardback copies and over 6 million paperback copies since it was first published in 1986!

In a slim little book with engaging and heartfelt illustrations by Sheila McGraw, the book's lyrical flow moves through the life cycle of the human race in a profound and bittersweet way.  It begins with a young mother rocking her son to sleep while singing "I'll love you forever.  I'll like you for always, as long as I'm  living my baby you'll be."  The boy grows and the mother continues to remind her son of her never-ending love and the connection they share.  Then, one day, the roles are reversed.  The son is a grown man, his mother an elderly woman.  The son holds his mother in his arms and sings "I'll love you forever.  I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be."  When the mother dies, the son finds solace in the act of rocking his own baby daughter while singing the song his mother sang to him many years before.  "I'll love you forever.  I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."

So,  in honor of "Children's Book Week" - I just couldn't let it pass without giving a nod to my favorite children's book.  And, in honor of Mother's Day tomorrow  I couldn't let the opportunity pass to remember my own children and grandchildren sitting in my lap while I read this tender story to them.  What poignant memories have surfaced in the writing of this post!  Happy Mother's Day to all !  And, if you've never read this little book, find yourself a copy and read it - it's a treat not to be missed.