Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Wondering whether his mother loves him all the time, a boy peppers her with questions ("Do you love me when I eat all my peas? Do you love me when I don't?") Reassuringly, she replies in the affirmative ("No matter what you do...I'll always love you"). Watercolor illustrations with plenty of white space show the boy in the midst of good--and bad--behavior.

Kirkus Reviews

Stott's simply executed tale explores the expansiveness of a mother's love. A young child queries his mother on the parameters of her affection through a series of seemingly guileless questions. Stott wryly captures the gamut of childhood peccadilloes as, with charming timidity, the child quizzes his mother to establish if her love encompasses whether he eats his peas (or not), uses the potty (or not), etc. Child readers will recognize their own behaviors and anxieties, and will be reassured by the mother's steadfast testimony of unconditional affection. Phelan's watercolors adeptly convey the gleeful mischief that is part and parcel of childhood. His deft sketches are an amusing extension of the tale and well worth second and third glances—as the child wonders whether his mother will love him if he doesn't eat his peas, readers see just his scowling eyes at table-level, little green vegetables strewn all over, including his hair. The artwork and the cozy message combine to create a vastly reassuring if not particularly original tale for little ones. (Picture book. 2-5)

School Library Journal (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

PreS A sweet, understated story. In minimal yet well-structured text, a child asks, "Do you love me?" Even, he wonders, if he's not gentle? What about, he asks, if "I jump in puddles wearing my new sneakers?" The protagonist, a boy with a thatch of red hair, pinhole eyes, and an earnest yet worried expression, perfectly captures the universality of this question. Phelan's illustrations bring this quiet text to exuberant life with pastel watercolors as the child and his dog leap, jump, and make mischief throughout the white space on which they exist. The perfectly timed text, with questions one after the other, listing all the possibilities this boy can imagine, ends of course with the perfect answer. "No matter what you doI'll always love you." There are other books with this theme, including Jeanne Willis's Mommy Do You Love Me? (Candlewick, 2008) and Debi Gliori's No Matter What (Harcourt, 1999). Both of these titles feature animal characters and have more text. Use this wonderful book in toddler storytimes, but make sure you get extra copiesthere will be a big demand. Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY