Colors Everywhere

Guess How Much I Love You

by Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram

Down by the river on a bright summer’s day, Big and Little Nutbrown Hare are lazily looking at all the colors around them.

Down by the river on a bright summer’s day, Big and Little Nutbrown Hare are lazily looking at all the colors around them. It’s so hard to decide which ones they like best! Big Nutbrown Hare’s favorite blue is the blue of the sky, while Little Nutbrown Hare’s favorite green is the green of the leaves. But which of the many lovely shades of brown will the Nutbrown Hares decide is the best of all?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

24 pages, Board Book

First published December 11, 2007

About the author

The 1943 born Northern Ireland native started writing children's books when he was a teacher in his thirties, with the aim of helping out students who had trouble reading. But he continued writing for a more-personal reason: "the act of imagining simply makes me feel good," he says. The fifty-seventh book of Sam McBratney's career, and his first book with Candlewick Press, was the much-loved GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, which has sold an astonishing 15 million copies worldwide, and is available in 37 languages. "This is not the sort of thing you expect when most of your books have been remaindered," the author admits. "But, as the frog trapped in the milk discovered, if you keep going, sometimes you find yourself walking on cream cheese."

Where does Sam McBratney get his inspiration? "I told my children stories when they were young," he says, "so when I write I try to think of what they would have liked." But there may be another source guiding his writing as well. The author's father--who worked as a type compositor with the BELFAST TELEGRAPH, and whose favorite books were westerns--is the person Sam McBratney credits for giving him his love of the English language. "Most of my picture books--GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, JUST ONE!, and JUST YOU AND ME--explore the relationship between a big one and a wee one," the author notes. "The big one is not called the father in the stories, but that's what he is. Although my dad died before I became a writer, the father in my stories has a voice and a presence that he would have recognized and understood."

In addition to authoring many books for children, Sam McBratney wrote radio plays for adults and a prize-winning collection of short stories. He received a degree in history and political science from Trinity College, Dublin, and worked for many years as a teacher.

Reviews

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations. Nice story about finding different colors throughout nature.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Companion to Guess How Much I Love You. This book presents colors a little differently. Instead of saying, "The grass is green" it's "What's your favorite green thing?" Good open-ended discussion for kids learning colors.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It's a little too text-heavy for a baby or toddler.

[Phillip Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the art and stories of the Nutbrown Hare books, Guess How Much I Love You and this one. They're great for young grandchildren!

[Kaitlin Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Summer" story from the season anthology.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about two Rabbits called "Big Nutbrown Hare" and "Little Nutbrown Hare" and they are taking a walk through nature and deciding which blues and greens they like best. At the end of the book they decide that the best brown in nature is "Nutbrown."

A cute book. The only annoying part is saying "Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare repeatedly throughout the book.

[Shala Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like this book as much as the classic Guess How Much I Love You, but my 10 month old daughter absolutely loves it! She's a huge fan of Little and Big Nutbrown Hare, and begins to laugh and clap her hands with glee whenever I pick up this book (or the When I'm Big one).

[Stella Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm going to like this book more when I'm older. For now, I say "tweet tweet" when I see the birds on the inside cover and sometimes I sniff like a bunny when I turn the pages.

From Suzanne and Karel.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprisingly vapid for a book about colors... It's cute, because it's the Sam McBratney bunny, but otherwise weak.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

the 2nd of 4 books in a little library of books about the Big Nutbrown Hare/Little Nutbrown Hare. This is the "summer" book of the four seasons and is about the brilliant colors in nature.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, just like all the Little Nutbrown Hare books! Used with preschool lesson plan on colors.

[Haley Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very sweet, and I love the illustrations, but we should have read it aloud before purchasing.

It was placed with other books for toddlers but there are too many words per page for my toddler to stay patient through multiple reads, and like most toddlers she likes to read her books several times back to back before moving on to another activity.

Not to mention big and little nutbrown hare are names that are easy to stumble over. The words don't have an easy rhythm to help make it words easy to remember while reading at awkward angles either.

I'm putting this book back to try again when she is older, but overall I'm unimpressed.