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Loving Hands
Loving hands lift, carry, hold, and give in a tender meditation on the everlasting bond between a parent and a child.
Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, I am here for you always. In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston pens a timeless ode to parenthood. The small moments and quiet scenes that make up childhood -- learning to clap, planting a garden, waving good-bye on the first day of school -- fill the pages of this gentle tale, capturing the reassurance and love that parents hand their children every day. Warm illustrations by Amy June Bates show a young boy reaching for his mother's hand as he grows older and more independent . . . until, perhaps, he can be the one to offer love and support with hands that say, I am here for you always. An eloquent look at the passage of time and the power of connection and care, this book is a heartfelt gift for loved ones at any and all milestones in life.
Hands wave hello, hands hold, hands heal. Hands say, I am here for you always. In simple, stirring rhymes, author Tony Johnston pens a timeless ode to parenthood. The small moments and quiet scenes that make up childhood -- learning to clap, planting a garden, waving good-bye on the first day of school -- fill the pages of this gentle tale, capturing the reassurance and love that parents hand their children every day. Warm illustrations by Amy June Bates show a young boy reaching for his mother's hand as he grows older and more independent . . . until, perhaps, he can be the one to offer love and support with hands that say, I am here for you always. An eloquent look at the passage of time and the power of connection and care, this book is a heartfelt gift for loved ones at any and all milestones in life.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published December 24, 2018
49 people want to read
About the author
Tony Johnston
142 books55 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.
Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 15, 2019
How do I rate this?!
0 stars for the overly gross, blatant, dreadful, facile (I can keep on going for quite a bit here....) use of emotional manipulation?
4 1/2 stars for the charming, tender, sweet, heart-warming, lovely in themselves illustrations?
What is a girl to do?
2 stars it is then.
Oh, Spite! for making me cry and flash-forwarding my life in such a saccharine awful way! Oh, VEXATION.
0 stars for the overly gross, blatant, dreadful, facile (I can keep on going for quite a bit here....) use of emotional manipulation?
4 1/2 stars for the charming, tender, sweet, heart-warming, lovely in themselves illustrations?
What is a girl to do?
2 stars it is then.
Oh, Spite! for making me cry and flash-forwarding my life in such a saccharine awful way! Oh, VEXATION.
January 10, 2019
I could sense the tear jerking from the first couple of pages but told myself I was NOT going to cry. I hate being manipulated by books like these. Then I proceeded to blubber and snot all over.
These overly sentimental books don't seem fair - the loving caregiver is too easy a target! Evoking a strong emotional response does not necessarily mean powerful writing. It's not hard to summon these visceral ancient feelings- they live just beneath the surface.
Despite myself, I will jump in my seat if you surprise me and I will laugh at pratfalls and I will cry if you remind me that my child will grow up and I will grow old.
2 stars for exploiting predictive emotions and 4 stars for beautiful illustrations.
These overly sentimental books don't seem fair - the loving caregiver is too easy a target! Evoking a strong emotional response does not necessarily mean powerful writing. It's not hard to summon these visceral ancient feelings- they live just beneath the surface.
Despite myself, I will jump in my seat if you surprise me and I will laugh at pratfalls and I will cry if you remind me that my child will grow up and I will grow old.
2 stars for exploiting predictive emotions and 4 stars for beautiful illustrations.
January 9, 2019
Oh my goodness what a beautiful picture book!!! I had to grab a tissue, this is a wonderful book!!!!!
January 3, 2019
Along the lines of I'll Love You Forever by Munch, this might make you cry
April 20, 2019
My mom says this book was specifically formulated to make her cry. She likes that it seems to be an example of a single mom.
January 25, 2019
I think the age group would be preschool or kindergarten. In the book, a baby is born and throughout his life, the mother holds his hand and guides him with love. I do not think I would use this book in my classroom, it is more of an at home kind of book. A problem with having it in school could be that a child is being raised without a mother and this book could make them feel very poorly.
March 18, 2019
This tender and moving picture book looks at the connection between parent and child from babyhood all the way through adulthood and old age. The book begins with pregnancy and birth, then moves on to the activities of toddlers and childhood like pat-a-cake and skinned knees. The book moves on to baking together, star gazing, and gardening. Full of simple pleasures, the child becomes an adult who visits home now and again. Until he returns to care for his mother and they watch the stars once again together.
First, I must tell you that the mother does not die at the end of the book. So the book stays hopeful and filled with warmth all the way through. The focus on hands is lovely, connecting the two of them through their activities and their loving touches. Johnston’s writing is superb, lifting the book up to something splendid and special. The verse in the book has a repeating rhythm and near rhymes that create beautiful moments on each page.
The artwork by Bates exudes warmth on the page. The characters are lit from within by their connection and love for one another. Each image captures that connection through body language and expressions.
A lovely book for mothers and children alike. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
First, I must tell you that the mother does not die at the end of the book. So the book stays hopeful and filled with warmth all the way through. The focus on hands is lovely, connecting the two of them through their activities and their loving touches. Johnston’s writing is superb, lifting the book up to something splendid and special. The verse in the book has a repeating rhythm and near rhymes that create beautiful moments on each page.
The artwork by Bates exudes warmth on the page. The characters are lit from within by their connection and love for one another. Each image captures that connection through body language and expressions.
A lovely book for mothers and children alike. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
September 17, 2019
I'm not sure this book is for children, perhaps only for them to read with their parents especially. This late August into September, I think it's for parents who've said goodbye to their college-age children, one of the toughest goodbyes I've had as a parent. From baby hood to older adult, Tony Johnston writes goodbyes to a young child, this time a boy, all the way until he's sitting with his older mother, holding her hand. Each poem includes something to do with hands, walking to school for the first time, feeding birds with one's hands, waving goodbye when going off to college. "The boy is going off to school./He asks, "Will I have friends?" "Of course you will," his mother says. They walk there holding hands." It's made even lovelier by Amy June Bates' soft watercolors.
July 26, 2020
Sadly, this book felt predictable, emotionally manipulative and overly saccharine. And the rhyme didn't always work for me. I can handle "pans" being expected to rhyme with "jam", but "runs" and "hands" don't rhyme at all, which threw off the rhythm of the book. But oh my goodness - the illustrations! They are wonderful. They are so beautiful and so powerful that they say tell the story so much better on their own. Amy June Bates has done an absolutely commendable job.
January 16, 2019
Having seen someone mention this book recently, when I came across it at my local Target, I had to stop and read it. The book follows the relationship of a mother and son from before his birth through his childhood and onto his adulthood. Each page of the book mentions hands in some way. Slightly reminded me of Robert Munsch’s “Love You Forever,” but this book is tremendously better.
March 18, 2019
Better - oh, so much better - than Love You Forever. Is it kind of saccharine? Yup. Manipulative, even? Yup.
But it's a good kind of emotional (for me, and others, not necessarily for everybody).
And gorgeous illustrations.
But it's a good kind of emotional (for me, and others, not necessarily for everybody).
And gorgeous illustrations.
February 9, 2019
some of the rhymes weren't on-point like the rest, but oh my the emotional punch is there. i really love how soft the illustrations feel. made me think a little of munsch's love you forever, which never fails to make me cry.
March 29, 2019
So, my 9 yr and 7 yr old love getting sentimental books like this because we all cry, point at each other and laugh, catch our breath and read it again. Thank you Tony Johnston and Amy June Bates for pulling our heart strings with this lovely chronicle of the bond between a mother and her child.
April 2, 2019
Oh friends! This book made me cry. It reminded me of Love You Forever, but I liked this better. It taught how our hands show love in caring for eachother over the course of a lifetime and it was so, so good.
August 23, 2019
Tender and loving book about a mother's love for her child. In this case, the child is a son. From pregnancy on the title page to the son returning to care for her as she ages, the love permeates the pages.
August 26, 2019
A stunning book about how a mother's hands care for her son through the years and in turn he cares for her. Get out the tissue box as this is a tearjerker. Perfect for any family at any stage. The illustrations will tug at your heartstrings as much as the words do.
December 28, 2018
Sensitive text and soft illustrations will touch the heart of moms...shelve this beside “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch.
January 8, 2019
Who is chopping onions in here??
Lovely. And now I'm sobbing.
Lovely. And now I'm sobbing.
January 10, 2019
Very sweet and likely to cause tears for any boy mom.
This feels like an updated, and less stalkery, Love You Forever.
All my colleagues upon reading it: "awww, what the hell?!?"
This feels like an updated, and less stalkery, Love You Forever.
All my colleagues upon reading it: "awww, what the hell?!?"
January 11, 2019
Such a sweet, sweet picture book. My eyes were tearing up near the end.
Good text and illustrations.
For babytime and toddler storytime, I would probably stop at the midpoint. :)
Good text and illustrations.
For babytime and toddler storytime, I would probably stop at the midpoint. :)
February 6, 2019
A modern version of Robert Munsch's I Will Love You Forever.
February 13, 2019
It is a tender, although a bit cliche, book about the love a mother has for her son. It is also a close emotional mirror to the book "Love You Forever."
Overall...nice, but unoriginal.
Overall...nice, but unoriginal.
March 2, 2019
Contemporary update on the parental love classic, I'll Love You Forever
March 10, 2019
Read a like to "I'll Love You Forever"
Cried while reading this, time goes by so fast.
Cried while reading this, time goes by so fast.
March 18, 2019
I loved the illustrations and the story of being a parent.
April 12, 2019
TISSUE WARNING!!! Such a good book! About a mother's love from the time her son is born until she is old and the son moves back in. I was fighting back tears at the end.
May 10, 2019
The new I’ll Love You Forever! Makes a mama cry.
September 28, 2021
Emotional!
May 15, 2022
Got this book from mother's day collection from the Te Awe library. Thankful to have such a beautiful and caring Amma.
July 31, 2023
It’s like someone decided to rewrite I’ll Love You Forever and take the creepiness out. This was really lovely.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews