I'll Love You Till the Cows Come Home

December 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-This rhyming narrative teaches children the comforting lesson that love is eternal. Utilizing the old adage "Till the cows come home," Cristaldi takes a variety of animals and puts them in outlandish situations. The opening pages show adorable cows on a rocket ship with the accompanying text; "I will love you till the cows come home-from a trip to Mars through skies unknown in a rocket ship made of glass and stone. I will love you till the cows come home." The proceeding pages are filled with yaks driving a fire truck, deer in a tap dancing contest, wolves in hot air balloons and much more. The narration then transitions into bedtime mode with the gentle reminder that "I will love you till then, and again and again, till my love makes a bed for the cows in their pen..." and viewers see all the animals from the previous adventures settling down for a good night's sleep. Litten's illustrations are whimsical and boisterous. VERDICT A cozy book with a message that is familiar to all and tailor-made for one-on-one sharing. An optional purchase for larger collections or for those looking to expand their cozy nighttime reads.-Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, MI

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2018
An imaginative entry in the I'll-love-you-forever category. Books that explore a parent's love for their child are a dime a dozen and feature characters that range from cartoon people to cuddly, round-faced forest animals and everything in between. The language is usually either straightforward or poetic and lyrical. This title offers an unusual variation. Rhyming verses tell readers they'll be loved until the scenarios described come to pass, and these grow more and more fantastical as the book progresses: "I will love you till the ants march in / wearing tiny ant hats and tiny ant grins / and birthday cake crumbs on their tiny ant chins. / I will love you till the ants march in." Till "the cows come home" (from Mars), "the yaks come back" (from a snack run), "the sheep set sail," "the wolves return" (from a hot air balloon trip), "the frogs ride past" ("on big-wheeled bikes"), "the deer dance by" (wearing top hats), and "the geese flap down," and even beyond that, this child will be loved. The ending is a perfect bedtime complement, adding in the moon, sleeping animals, and frogs strumming violins. Litten's mixed-media digital illustrations play up the silly situations, while the muted, blue-dominant palette will keep them from winding kids up too much before bed.In a crowded genre, this zany title is out standing in its field--along with the cows. (Picture book. 3-8)

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January 1, 2019
Winsome mixed-media illustrations and rhythmic rhyming text assure readers of the narrator's love, not just "till the cows come home" but also until "the yaks come back" and "the deer dance by." The gentle silliness builds as animals travel in rockets, firetrucks, ships, etc. But by book's end--when everyone settles down to the music of the frogs' violins--peace and contentment abound.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)