.com Review "Every bird loves a tree,/ Every flower loves a bee,/ Every lock loves a key,/ And I love you." There's nothing like a love poem to curl up in bed with. And in this ode to love, almost-readers can partake as well as already-readers. Written in a rebus format, with pictures or symbols suggesting words, the book is both a challenge and a comfort. Children will have fun deciphering the rhymes comparing the affection waves have for whales, ducks have for lakes, and socks have for shoes. The refrain, of course, is the universal rebus series of symbols: an eyeball, a heart shape, and the letter u--I love you. Jean Marzollo is the author of the bestselling I Spy books, including I Spy Gold Challenger. Suse Macdonald is the recipient of the prestigious Caldecott honor for Alphabatics. This simple little book, with bold, bright pictures and very few, very big words, will be just right for a naptime read-aloud. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter Read more From Publishers Weekly For this sweet valentine to youngest children, Marzollo (the I Spy series) and MacDonald (Alphabatics) join forces in a combination concept book and rebus. Word pictures substitute for the verse's nounsAand for the words "I love you," which end each of the four quatrains. Marzollo's natural instinct for preschoolers' view of the world is in evidence: "Every bird loves a tree,/ Every flower loves a bee,/ Every lock loves a key,/ And I love you." The pairings (one per spread) will be immediately recognizable to youngsters, and the closing "I love you" refrain pictures snuggling pigs, a mother and baby koala bear and courting rabbits. MacDonald's images of a wave hugging a whale, and of two ducks in flowered bathing caps racing into a lake, are especially winning. Ages 2-6. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
