They're cluttered and nonsensical.
In the 9 years I've been a parent, there have been a very select few that I like.
And only two that I love.
One of these two precious books was a gift for our baby from my husband's baby sister. The book is titled Wherever You Are my love will find you. It's written by Nancy Tillman.
I've never cried reading a board book and I certainly wouldn't have guessed that such a benign looking book would leave me sobbing as I attempted to read it to my 11 week old don't-want-to-stop-crying baby last night.
The book opens with the line, "I wanted you more than you ever will know, so I sent love to follow wherever you go." I should have known with that opening line that my emotions would surface quickly, but I was still caught off guard.
The rhyming continues as I, the reader, told my daughter just how many feats my love can accomplish. With each new way that I told her how my love will find her, my emotions bubbled up until tears were flowing freely down my face.
In many ways, it felt like I was bearing testimony of my love for my daughter to her. The words, though not mine, rung with truth and I know she's young, but she was absolutely paying attention to me. Her crying turned to a whimper then to a quiet, wide-eyed calm and she tried to make sense of what was going on.
Through my tears I kept reading until the very last line, a phrase I've held close to my heart since childhood, "you're never alone".
The drawings are simple and elegant, easy for a young baby to focus on with animals and nature scenes that match the poetry. They were just what I love to see in a children's book.
So if you need a good cry, or a simple gift to share with another, here is a good place to start . . .
And thank you, sweet S, for such a wonderful gift.
