From sunrise to sunset, a young otter and his mom count the ways they love each other.
Miko’s mother kisses his paws as he awakens (“One, two, three, four, five little kisses for five little Miko toes”). “I love you one, two, three, four, five!” replies Miko. Mom cheerfully responds, “And I love YOU six, seven, eight, nine, ten.” That’s a whole lot of love, but Miko and his mom have much more counting to do. At the river, Miko gathers blossoms in his paws: “I love you as much as all these yellow flowers!” Mom estimates that there must be around 20 flowers. In the water, Mom tells Miko, “I love you as much as all these little fish.” “There must be 100 of them,” Miko shouts. The two compare their love to the thousands of pebbles on the beach; they stack the small stones, which suddenly fall, and Miko worries that maybe there could be too much love. Mom calms his fears: “I could count on and on and on and never reach the end of my love for you.” The love is palpable in both Baker’s utterly sweet text and Julian’s softly hued illustrations; depictions of fields of brightly colored flowers, crisp blue waters full of fish, and a vast starry sky at night offer many opportunities to attempt to quantify this pair’s overflowing love. An enumerative tale full of familial warmth. (Picture book. 3-6)–Kirkus Reviews
Toddler-K–An otter and her pup, Miko, wake up on a beautiful sunny day, their hearts overflowing with love. As they move through their day together, they take turns counting the objects they see—Miko’s five “tiny toes,” the beach’s thousands of “shiny stones,” and more. All these numbers, no matter how high, signify their love for one another. Julian’s illustrations picture the otter pair in natural landscapes bursting with soft hues and rich details; the otters’ tender expressions toward each other are especially heartwarming. After a day of playing, swimming, and picking flowers, Miko and his mom stare up at the night sky; they love each other millions, just like the stars, and even more. As caregivers will readily understand, there could never be enough of anything in the world to measure the adoration otter mom has for her otter child. VERDICT This warm and fuzzy, feel-good story about a mother’s enduring love is a welcome addition to any collection serving caregivers and their beloved young ones.–School Library Journal
