“Guess How Much I Love You” is a book written by Sam McBratney with illustrations by Anita Jeram. It was first published in 1994 and became a modern classic, selling more than a million copies in its first year. It was given as gifts to new parents, newlyweds, and many others. It is one of the most popular and best-selling children's books of all time.
The book tells the tale of Little Nutbrown Hare and Big
Nutbrown Hare, who are telling each other how much they love each other. Little
Nutbrown Hare wishes he could show how much he loves Big Nutbrown Hare, but he
is much smaller.
Since its writing, “Guess How Much I Love You” has been translated
into 57 languages and has sold 60 million copies worldwide. The book continues
to captivate children, and others, of all ages with its message of love.
Like in “Colors Everywhere” by the same author, “Nutbrown Hare” resembles the lyrics to the
Irish traditional song, “Star of the County Down.” It is a nice nod to Irish
music, especially since the author is Irish, even if it was unintentional.
The book is a great way to express love, whether it is a
romantic relationship, a friendship, or a parent-child relationship. It
perfectly encapsulates the desire to express love, and even touches on how
difficult it can be at times to fully show how much love we possess for
another.
The physical copy of the book is a board book. This makes it
great for kids of all ages, even babies. The pages will not rip out easily, and
the pages are able to be easily cleaned, so there is no worry about the book
being ruined immediately.
Jeram’s illustrations keep a consistency between this book
and “Colors Everywhere.” There is a sequel to this book, and it would be
interesting to see if the illustrations hold over to that book as well. This continuity
of illustrations makes the world of the Nutbrown Hares feel expansive, crossing
over into multiple books.
Overall, this book lives up to its status as a classic. It
echoes themes of love in a variety of contexts and captivates children and the
young-at-heart of all ages.