Love Is:

by Diane Adams, Claire Keane (Illustrator)

Perfect for any fond gift or tender moment, this story of a girl and a duckling who share a touching year together will melt hearts old and young. In this tenderly funny book, girl and duckling grow in their understanding of what it is to care for each other, discovering that love is as much about letting go as it is about holding tight. Children and parents together will adore this fond exploration of growing up while learning about the joys of love offered and love returned.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Love, Animals, Friendship, Fiction, Storytime

28 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2017

Reviews

[sabina👩🏻‍🎨 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really really beautiful book. The illustrations and story really touch the soul in the nicest way. The book itself is about a girl and her little duckling going through the motions of growing up together and having to let go and allow the duck to move on when the time is right. It’s also a metaphor for adults on having to give their own children independence when the time is right, too. It’s absolutely a book for all genders and ages and will make you all warm and fuzzy inside! Love the representation in it too.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww!

Again, but louder: Awww!

Love Is sort of rolls two books into one. The text tells a sweet story, in rhyme, about love, while the illustrations tell a more specific story about a little girl nursing a lost duckling.

The pictures are really adorable, and Keane's background working on movies like Tangled and Frozen really shines through. Though the lines and colours may be simple, there is a lot of emotion coming through the drawings.

Recommended to those who enjoy books in rhyme, stories about animal rescue, or reading about love and friendship.

Quotable moment:

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful...

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gah! this is such a hug of a book! The illustrations are beyond adorable; they have a bit of nostalgic charm bringing to mind some of the great children's book illustrators of the 40s or 50s and yet it's also so vivid and so now. The text is just beautiful. It might be a bit too "sweet" for some, but I loved it and found the combination of the gentle, insightful words and the expressive (and sometimes humorous) illustrations just worked wonderfully. Certainly it's a book about a little girl caring for an injured duck until it is is ready to be released back into the wild -- but I imagine any parent reading this will see the double meaning and feel a tug at the heartstrings and a desire to go kiss those littles still cozy in the nest.

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for my toddler’s nap time. A cute book about the girl and her duck. They love each other. Do everything together. Then one day she has to let it go be with its kind. She misses it. Love the illustrations!

Read from kindle unlimited.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful picture book for young and old!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some meany brought this book out to the desk for me to read and I had to hold back tears because it was just so cute. The illustrations reminded me of Oliver and Company. Love this.

[ella bortell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Is is an adorable picture book about a girl and her beloved duckling. It discusses the happy parts of love and the harder parts of love. It discusses that sometimes to love is to be changed and to let go. The duck grows throughout the story and eventually returns to its family. The little girl misses her duck but then realizes that her duck still loves her even if he is not around.

This is a great book for any child to read. It is great for children to learn to deal with the changing world and growing apart from friends. It also hints at the fact that they will leave their family when they are old enough, but that they will still be there loving them.

This book is simple and cute, and the art style is adorable. I believe it would be a good addition to any classroom. In therapy, it could be used to target “qu”, /l/, or /k/.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful illustrations and full of feeling. A little sad, a lot sweet.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one even if there might have been a tear in my eye when love let go. Now that my baby is 19 years old, this was nostalgic and bittersweet.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story, with cute artwork!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet book!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liefde is... (vul maar in wat jij vindt dat liefde is, liefde kan immers zoveel zijn).

Ik moet eerlijk bekennen dat ik dit boek voor de cover had gekozen. De blurb klonk wel schattig, maar ik was door de cover naar het boek getrokken. Ik wilde het verhaal weten van het meisje met de eend.

En dit was een mooi boek, ik had bijna een paar traantjes gelaten omdat het op punten ook even zielig was (of heel erg lief).

Ontmoet onze naamloze hoofdpersoon, ik noem haar hierbij Lily (of Lila). Terwijl ze buitenspeelt ontmoet ze een klein eendje die blijkbaar weg is gelopen van zijn ouders (want vlinders zijn ook té mooi om niet naar toe te gaan). Lily besluit hem te adopteren en hem alle liefde (en eten) geven die hij maar nodig heeft om te groeien. Ondertussen verteld de schrijver ons de verschillende vormen van liefde. Zoals dat liefde is dat je elke keer opstaat om iemand te voeren, of op te ruimen als diegene een zooi heeft gemaakt (en het zelf niet kan opruimen).

Maar ook dat liefde loslaten is. Loslaten als kleine eendjes groot worden en dus terug moeten naar de familie waar ze horen. Liefde is gemis. Liefde is hopen. Liefde gaat nooit over.

Ja, dit was een boek dat ik zeker zou aanraden. Ook vanwege de prachtige illustraties, ook al moet ik zeggen dat ik de eend (en zijn expressies) ietwat afleidend vond, vooral omdat de andere eenden niet zo eruitzien als we die weer tegenkomen.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Bilbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried. I recently lost my 17-year-old dachshund, Piper, who I’d had since her birth, so I’m extra sensitive right now. I’ve always connected hard with stories about change and growing up and saying goodbye to loved ones(for a while or forever), and even though this one is a happy ending, the moments of missing and reminiscing had those tears coming. These lyrics from a song in the animated Charlotte’s Web have been stuck in my brain since I knew I was going to lose Piper, and feel very apt for this story as well: ‘How very special are we, for just a moment to be, part of life’s eternal rhyme. How very special are we, to have in our family tree, Mother Earth and Father Time.’ How beautiful an experience it is to love, and be loved, and feel that loss when they’re not there anymore. This book captures that so perfectly. Also, the art in this is so beautiful. It’s not very wordy, but the rhyming lines are perfectly chosen.

[Olivia S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this sweet story about a girl and her duckling, and how, ultimately, wild animals belong in the wild, and if you love them, you must set them free. Makes me cry. Beautiful illustrations, nice that the main character just happens to be a POC.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just my kind of storybook! Feelings and good art. Dreamy and beautiful. Yet so real and peaceful. Author and artist, this is the perfection I was looking for.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo, qué cuqui : )

[Steven Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little story that my grand daughter liked a lot.

[Rebecca Crunden]

✾ children’s book review ✾

This is absolutely lovely; very heart-warming!

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[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems like one of those books that's designed more to make the parent tear up than anything else. The illustrations are awesome -- Claire Kean has done work for Disney, and the movement and facial expressions are attention-grabbing and made my daughter giggle. I also liked the choice to illustrate the young protagonist as a black girl. The rhyming story deals with watching someone grow up, and seemed to go over my toddler's head, though, even as I sniffled a bit.

[trijnewijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mijn kinderen denken dat dit over een meisje gaat en het eendje waarvoor ze zorgt. Volgens mij gaat het over ouderschap, er zijn, groeien en loslaten. Dit boekje gaat recht naar het hart, het terugbrengen naar de bib deed een beetje pijn...

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While looking for other picture books at the library this one caught my eye, so it came home, too.

A sweet story of a love relationship, this one between a girl and a duckling she rescues. The illustrations are lovely and the story is told through a sweet poem.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picture book for adults...not so much for kids.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is sentimental and it rhymes and has animals in it and you're crying not me shut up.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sweet read, beautiful story and pictures. Even my 5 year old said “ohh that’s just so sweet” when we finished!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about a little girl who finds a lost duckling. Each page describes how they are showing love to each other as the duckling becomes a duck. Love isn't always easy, sometimes it's messy bath times and noisy midnight feedings. And sometimes it's realizing that it's time to let go. Then love is missing and reminiscing, and going to visit, wondering if love remembers you. And knowing, as the duck greets her with a hug "that love has lasted," and as she sees her duck's babies, that love has "grown some too."

This book could make me cry every single time I read it. Love love love. ♡︎♡︎♡︎

[Angela Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable! It’s a children’s book that I picked up for my niece as a Valentine’s Day gift, but after reading it, it seems like it might be more suitable for my sister-in-law. Either way, it’s a precious story that made me want to go hug my mom. And the illustrations… absolutely gorgeous! Love love love!

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable story and beautiful illustration! Will pass this on for great nieces and nephews!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so sweet! I'm not crying, you're crying.