What do You think about Love You Forever (1995)?
This was such a sweet book! " I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm livingmy baby you'll be"A mother repeats this phrase to her son at night, continuing this as he grows up. Parents of even older children can relate. No matter how old they get, they are still yours and you love them. This books shows that through good times and bad and has such a sweet, tender ending that should touch everyone's heart.There is one part that is a bit disturbing with the mom even sneaking into the "boy's" home when he is an adult to continue so sooth him in his sleep. While the literal sense of this is....unusual to say the least, the concept the book holds is very true. For me to this day, my mother still calls me her "Munchkin" and has admitted that even having kids of my own I will still be her little girl. No matter what I do or go through she loves me. And that is the message I love about this book.When I first saw this I half wondered what it was about and hoped it was not about toilet training. Lucky for me I it wasn't. This book is a treasure and a perfect book to read before bed. and the quote about is utterly endearing. Try it with your own child!
—Jamie
This is supposed to be a touching children’s story, a tale of family love that comes full circle in a bitter-sweet irony, but, frankly, I found it to be…creepy. I get what it was going for, but the sentimental effect is kind of lost when we go from loving mom of infant and toddler to weirdly obsessed stalker mom of teenager and adult. There's a great country song that communicates the idea this was going for (and failed to convey). I can't remember what it's called, but it's about a son who is guided by his father and then must guide his father in old age. One note - a child may possibly find the whole rocking the older kid / teenager / adult thing funny rather than creepy, because of the incongruity. If it seemed aimed at funny, I might have thought it so; but it seemed aimed at touching, and so just came off disturbing.
—Skylar Burris
Love you forever, Stalk you for always . . . . ***Ok, in response to the haterz: let me state that I do not mind one bit that many people have been touched and uplifted and LOVE this book. It just doesn't work for me. At all. And I'm allowed to have a different opinion that you. Kthxbai.***. . . let me say first that I understand this is an allegory about unconditional love between parent/child . . . but does this book come off a little creepy to anyone else? 1) It starts out ok . . . but about the time the kid gets to be a teenager I just start to feel uncomfortable. Would I be ok with my mom slipping into my teenage brothers' rooms while they're sleeping to cuddle and sing a love song? No, probably not. 2) I think it's weird there's only female figures mentioned (mom and grandma). Where's the dad? (later when the mom is sick the only pictures on her wall are of the kid, no husband or parents -- again, kinda weird) And later on in the book when the kid is grown up where is the mom to his baby - single dads are awesome but the absence of characters is chilling here.3) This mom I seriously think has issues with letting her children go. Once a man gets married the woman in their life isn't you--it's the wifey! And when children grow up and become adults and you should have an adult-to-adult relationship with them. Quit trying to cuddle them!4) When it gets to the part of the old woman tying a ladder to her roof and driving across town with the lights off, then sneaking in the son's window to cuddle and sing the love song --- I just want to scream, " AAAGH, she's coming!! Lock the windows!! RUN!!!" creee-py!5) Okay, just think about if this dad goes on to have the same behavior with his own daughter. The dad sneaking in on the teenage daughter to hold her, or later on when she's married he's climbing through her window to her bed???? 6) I really don't think it's good writing. With children's books I like them to have rhyme and rhythm and be easy to read. I felt like I was stumbling over words. 7) Despite all this Ellie still likes the book, and I see the point it's trying to make, although I don't agree with the method. And I know I'm being too literal, but seriously if you look at this book literally it will give you nightmares!!! Just for fun read it to someone purposefully trying to be creepy - just as an experiment. Trust me, you'll agree with me after that.Darik doesn't necessarily like it when I call the book:Love you forever,Stalk you for always . . .But I do anyways :-)
—Kristine
