cover image Love Is a Good Thing to Feel

Love Is a Good Thing to Feel

Barbara Joosse, , illus. by Jennifer Plecas. . Philomel, $12.99 (40pp) ISBN 978-0-399-25168-9

A heart-shaped cover diecut immediately demonstrates the charms of Harriet, framed in an exuberant embrace with Squeezie, her spindly-eared rabbit. Returning from Please Is a Good Word to Say , the heroine walks readers through the complicated emotion of love. As Harriet explains the many ways to say “I love you” (the best “is with a parade”), she also moves into more difficult terrain. A particularly sensitive thread follows Harriet's various reactions to the attention paid a sister's birthday. Adding punch, Harriet's monologue is accompanied by speech balloons that record her actual reactions to various incidents. “You can love someone and also feel jealous,” for example, captions the sister's elaborate description of her birthday party and a crestfallen Harriet's “That's nice.” Children will enjoy Harriet's brashness, while they and their parents will appreciate the discussion of love as a sometimes difficult emotion. Ages 3–5. (Jan.)