A child tests his mother's love as she tucks him in: Would you love me 'if I were a big, scary ape, . . . a super smelly skunk,' and so on. Her 'Runaway Bunny'like responses ('I would make your birthday cake out of bananas . . . ') rise to each challenge until a satisfied, sleepy-eyed child concedes, 'Mama, I love you.' The humorous illustrations are ultimately as naive as the ending.

Starred Review In a funny, tender bedtime story, a mother tucks her child in with lots of hugs and kisses and words of love, but the toddler worries: Would you still love me if I were a big scary ape? Or a super smelly skunk? Or a slimy swamp creature? Or a Cyclops that had just one big, gigantic eye? Each time, the mother is totally reassuring, unconditionally loving, and wonderfully creative about how she would help and nurture and adore the monstrous offspring (I would dress you in colors that showed off your nice green skin . . . I would buy you a bigger toothbrush for your big teeth . . . I would move next to the swamp . . . and I would say I love you, my little Cyclops). Moore's paintings, in neon colors with lots of purple and green, contrast the gentle bedtime caresses with the wild scenarios. This is a book that adds depth to McBratney's best-selling Guess How Much I Love You? (1995). The playful uproar here dramatizes every child's elemental fear that no one would love you if people knew how bad you really were. The answer here is absolute: nothing could ever make me stop loving you. (Reviewed October 15, 1997)

PreS-Gr 1--A child tucked into bed delays going to sleep, needing reassurance of her mother's love. The youngster asks, "Would you still love me....if I were a big scary ape?" or "a super smelly skunk" or "a terrible meat-eating dinosaur," and the list continues. No matter what horrible creature is imagined, Mama says she will always love and care for her child. Warm pastel drawings sweetly illustrate the story; the imaginary creatures are appealing rather than frightening. Reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny (HarperCollins, 1942) and Kady Denton's Would They Love a Lion? (Kingfisher, 1995), this is a good choice for storytime or one-on-one sharing.--Elizabeth Trotter, Scott County Public Library, Georgetown, KY