I LOVE YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU

Love is what makes the world go round.

This tender and emotive picture book offers an expansive vision of diverse human beings expressing love for one another. The illustrations show people of all ages bonding over everyday activities like baking and attending a sports game and standing with each other through significant life events like celebrating a birthday and leaving home. The text uses a call-and-response structure to underscore the reciprocal nature of love. Each statement beginning with “I love you because” is answered with a sentence that begins with the refrain “Because I love you.” Throughout, text on the verso pages appears in regular type, while text on the recto is italicized, visually supporting the creation of two distinct voices. The book gently teases out the relationship between love and various qualities like playfulness, emotional strength, forgiveness, courage, and loyalty. The somewhat impressionistic artwork (ironically created by an illustrator whose surname is Love), rendered in acrylic ink, watercolor, and gouache, lends a soothing ambiance. Characters depicted include racially diverse families, a queer interracial couple, and people of all ages, including those with disabilities.

An inclusive, affirming, warmhearted book with lots to love.