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Love Is . . .
What is Love?
For thousands of years, people the world over have answered this question by turning to Saint Paul the apostle and his words on love for the early followers of Christ. Now celebrated illustrator Wendy Anderson Halperin lends her own artistic vision to Paul's immortal words and reasserts his message -- that the love we express can best be seen in what we do and say -- for generations to come.
For thousands of years, people the world over have answered this question by turning to Saint Paul the apostle and his words on love for the early followers of Christ. Now celebrated illustrator Wendy Anderson Halperin lends her own artistic vision to Paul's immortal words and reasserts his message -- that the love we express can best be seen in what we do and say -- for generations to come.
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 23, 2003
56 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Anderson Halperin
40 books36 followersWendy Anderson Halperin is a published author and illustrator of children's books and young adult books. Wendy has studied painting and anatomy at Syracuse University, Pratt Institute, and under the tutelage of David Hardy. In the 70's Wendy worked as an Art director before moving into her present work as a teacher. She trains educators, librarians, as well as attends conferences and workshops. Among her books are Bonaparte, The Peterkin's Christmas, The Full Belly Bowl, Thank You God for Everything, and The Visit. Her books have won numerous awards and have been translated into many languages including Japanese, Dutch, and Tswana.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 5, 2020
A beautiful book!
October 10, 2018
Love is...
Summary: this is a book that talks about love. It is based of 1 Corinthians 13. This book expresses what love really is. This book does a great job at showing what love is and what love is not.
Like or not:
I really like this book. I think it does a good job expressing the differences of what love really is and what we sometimes think love is but it really isn’t. I like this book because I think it is important to know what love is at a young age and I feel like this book does a good job at explaining it for young ages!
Classroom:
I would love to have this book in my classroom. I do not know if I would be allowed to have this in my classroom if I was teaching in a public school but I would definitely have it on my book shelf if I was teaching at a private Christian school. I think you could turn this into a fun lesson about loving others. You could make each student make a list of what they think love is before you read the Book and then make another list of what love is after you read the book to them. You can compare what they have the same and what changes. Love is so much to comprehend. It is such a strong emotion.
Summary: this is a book that talks about love. It is based of 1 Corinthians 13. This book expresses what love really is. This book does a great job at showing what love is and what love is not.
Like or not:
I really like this book. I think it does a good job expressing the differences of what love really is and what we sometimes think love is but it really isn’t. I like this book because I think it is important to know what love is at a young age and I feel like this book does a good job at explaining it for young ages!
Classroom:
I would love to have this book in my classroom. I do not know if I would be allowed to have this in my classroom if I was teaching in a public school but I would definitely have it on my book shelf if I was teaching at a private Christian school. I think you could turn this into a fun lesson about loving others. You could make each student make a list of what they think love is before you read the Book and then make another list of what love is after you read the book to them. You can compare what they have the same and what changes. Love is so much to comprehend. It is such a strong emotion.
October 27, 2023
This is an incredible book! It was so disheartening to read some of the negative thoughts about this book because I think it is misunderstood… this book can be enjoyed by any age reader, but is specifically geared towards children. I read this book to my daughter, who was about three or four at the time, and it was a little tough to have her sit down and listen to all the explanations about the different stories. There are side-by-side illustration comparisons of what is love and what is not love. However, at almost 7, we just sat down with the book again, and it was magic! She was completely enamored with each and every little illustration, representing examples of what love looks like and what it isn’t. We took three nights to read the book because it took us at least 10-15 minutes to get through each page!! This is a book based on scripture, so it is certainly geared towards Christians, but I think could be appreciated by religious and non-religious alike!
November 9, 2020
Beautifully detailed illustration of 1 Cor 13
March 13, 2022
One of my favorites
May 25, 2024
My children loved poring over the illustrations to compare the examples of love, and the examples of what love isn't. Quite a lot of symbolism for kids to consider.
October 4, 2016
"Love Is" by Wendy Anderson Halperin is a very great book to read about what love is. It talks from 1 Corinthians 13 and illustrated it very beautifully. It talks about the right things love should be and the things it should not be. I really recommend reading this book because it gives you great insight on a beautiful message. It would be great to read to your children and talk about together.
January 25, 2013
I have mixed feelings for this book.
On the one hand, the text is a poetic bit of scripture about love. I have no complaint there.
On the other hand, I can't help but get a feeling that it was created exclusively for conservative Christian home-schoolers. There's nothing wrong with homeschooling or the rest, that's just the feeling the book gives me.
The book is inundated with lessons about love and friendship and doing the right thing, all told with illustrations. Each page is chock full of pictures, piled on top of each other in panels and windows. Some of the pictures are hopelessly cliche (Children fighting in one panel and then holding hands and smiling in the next, etc), but then there are lots of subtle stories, too, like the Little Engine That Could which appears chugging its way up the border of an image panel. Some of the stories in the book continue page to page. For example, each page has a panel with Michelangelo carving a block of marble and at the end we see his David statue (that was my absolute favorite part of the book. Props to you, Halperin!), and we also see an abandoned house that is more and more in ruin from page to page until it is eventually bulldozed. What is the meaning of these stories? The book does not say, and that is where I find its value. This is an opportunity for dialogue between a parent and a child, and critical thinking. What do the house and the David have to do with love? The readers can decide together.
The illustrations also had really random lessons included–like the life cycle of a butterfly (Why? To what end?)–which, I think, substantiate my home-school theory.
On the one hand, the text is a poetic bit of scripture about love. I have no complaint there.
On the other hand, I can't help but get a feeling that it was created exclusively for conservative Christian home-schoolers. There's nothing wrong with homeschooling or the rest, that's just the feeling the book gives me.
The book is inundated with lessons about love and friendship and doing the right thing, all told with illustrations. Each page is chock full of pictures, piled on top of each other in panels and windows. Some of the pictures are hopelessly cliche (Children fighting in one panel and then holding hands and smiling in the next, etc), but then there are lots of subtle stories, too, like the Little Engine That Could which appears chugging its way up the border of an image panel. Some of the stories in the book continue page to page. For example, each page has a panel with Michelangelo carving a block of marble and at the end we see his David statue (that was my absolute favorite part of the book. Props to you, Halperin!), and we also see an abandoned house that is more and more in ruin from page to page until it is eventually bulldozed. What is the meaning of these stories? The book does not say, and that is where I find its value. This is an opportunity for dialogue between a parent and a child, and critical thinking. What do the house and the David have to do with love? The readers can decide together.
The illustrations also had really random lessons included–like the life cycle of a butterfly (Why? To what end?)–which, I think, substantiate my home-school theory.
January 18, 2013
This is one of my favourite picture books of all time. I have given it as christening, 1st communion, Easter, and graduation gifts many times. Wendy Anderson Halperin is a marvellously creative illustrator. I love the way that she mirrors the "opposite" of each verse of Paul's writing on the opposite page: for example, when love is "kind," is shows scenarios of kindness on one page, mirrored by the same scenarios but with people being unkind or selfish. Each illustrated spread is full of narrative details that keep the reader engaged and intrigued, even after multiple readings.
April 28, 2016
This book is based off of 1 Corinthians 13, which talks about what Love really is. This book depicts two ways of living: on the left hand side, it shows what love is not, and on the right side it shows what love is. The great thing about this book, is how young readers can read it!
I like this book. It is a great illustration for children of God's living word.
I would use this in my classroom if I taught at a private Christian school, but I would definitely keep it on the shelves of my home library!
I like this book. It is a great illustration for children of God's living word.
I would use this in my classroom if I taught at a private Christian school, but I would definitely keep it on the shelves of my home library!
June 30, 2012
My family met Wendy when my father-in-law was in the hospital dying and hers was also in the hospital with heart problems. She recommended this book to us and we bought 2 copies. She was right, it was perfect for us! Thanks, Wendy!
March 9, 2016
Love is... is an interesting book because it is a book purely based on illustrations. The idea of the book, I like quite much, though, the book does not have a plot line, the message of the book is cute.
February 12, 2009
Gorgeously illustrated I Corinthians 13--a little advanced--too detailed for young readers. some of the illustrations didn't make sense even to me.
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April 24, 2011There is a lot going on in these pictures.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews