ALA Booklist

With her signature evocative watercolor-and-pencil images, child's-eye level, and delicate close-ups, Tafuri has created a rockabye picture book that sings. One by one, a little deer, duck, rabbit, child, and others ask, Do you love me, Mama? And each is answered yes in a most reassuring way. Mama Rabbit says, I love you as the earth loves you, / warm and snug around you, / . . . forever and ever and always. Mama Owl loves her little one as the oak tree does, tall and strong; the deer loves her fawn as the river does; so when the child turns to Mama and she says, I love you as the stars love you, children are ready for forever, and ever, and always. In the realm of bedtime cozies, this one stands out for its simplicity without mawkishness and the purity of its rhythms. (Reviewed February 1, 1998)

Horn Book

In this oversized book, a doe tells her fawn that she loves him forever, "as the river loves you...giving you cool water to drink." Other animal mothers and finally a human mother also tie their love to the constancy of the natural world. Tafuri's text is repetitive and reassuring, if somewhat sentimental. The watercolor and colored pencil illustrations are softly patterned and endearing.

Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Six beautiful mother-and-baby animal pairs—some rendered larger than life size—and one human mother and child play variations on the theme I will always love you.'' In response to the question,Do you love me, Mama?'' asked by each little one, the mothers reply, Yes, little one . . . forever and ever and always.'' In each instance, a parallel is drawn between the mother's love and the nurturing, protecting environment that is the animal's home. The human mother, however, says,I love you as the stars love you, constant and bright above you, giving you joy and peace and wonder.'' Even very young children will know that the notion of stars loving anyone is a bit of a stretch, but will respond to the poetry of it, anyway. Tafuri's trademark watercolor- and-pencil illustrations, with every hair and feather and blade of grass meticulously stroked in, are just as lovely here as in What the Sun Sees, What the Moon Sees (1997) and show the world as the same reassuring, benevolent place. A book for quiet times, for sharing one-on-one. (Picture book. 2-6)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this tender bedtime book, seven young creatures ask in turn a single, important question: """"Do you love me, Mama?"""" The answer in each case is the same: """"forever and ever and always,"""" but it is preceded by different, lyrical similes. Mama Rabbit loves her baby """"as the earth loves you, warm and snug around you, giving you a warm place to sleep""""; Mama Mouse loves her child """"as the wild rye loves you, gently swaying above you, giving you food and cover from harm."""" As the characters speak, the pictures quietly show the progression of the sun and moon to indicate the passage of time from midmorning to evening. The book's oversized pages seem to enfold the reader like a hug, and the full-bleed watercolor-and-ink illustrations are sumptuously yet tidily rendered, bringing to life the lushness of the woodland setting while maintaining a comforting sense of order. So stunningly detailed are Tafuri's (Have You Seen My Duckling?) dusky, downy-coated animals that the pink-skinned human mother and genderless child shown on the final spread seem almost bland in comparison. A compositional strategy gently underlines the point of the narrative: the spreads in which the little ones ask their anxious question are framed as medium or long shots, while the mothers make their reassuring reply in snuggly close-ups. A soothing and sturdy choice. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)