I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW

Husband-and-wife team and Broadway stars Odom and Robinson offer up an ode to the bond between parents and their growing children.

Starting with a Black couple—perhaps stand-ins for the authors—and their little ones, the book portrays racially diverse families joyously engaged in a variety of activities (breastfeeding, cuddling on the couch, blowing bubbles in the park) as their babies mature. Addressed from parent to child (“Do you remember / when we first met? / It was a moment / I won’t soon forget”), the tender verse exudes love and reassurance, while Hwang Ruiz’s bright digital illustrations depict everyday moments. Toasty yellows, browns, and tans, along with vibrant greens and purples, make each page glow with an effervescent warmth that feels like a cozy embrace. Many books are devoted to the bond between parents and babies, but this one celebrates the transition from baby to toddler and toddler to big kid. The rhyming text lends itself well to emerging readers as well as to a bedtime read for the very young. The book depicts a variety of families, including some with parents who appear to be same-sex as well as a parent who uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle testament to one of the few things that never changes—a parent’s love.