cover image I Love You Too

I Love You Too

Ziggy Marley, illus. by Ag Jatkowska. Akashic, $15.95 (48p) ISBN 978-1-61775-310-7

The lyrics to reggae artist Marley's Emmy-winning song, featured in the animated series 3rd & Bird, are presented with Jatkowska's smudgy, jewel-toned illustrations in the musician's first picture book. Three children%E2%80%94black, brown, and white%E2%80%94are seen spending time together and with their parents. A father with spiky, sandy hair shares breakfast with his pigtailed daughter at the kitchen table: "When you tell me that you love me,/ this is what I'm gonna say," writes Marley before a page turn shows the same pair hugging in view of a vibrant green tree where two brightly colored birds are nuzzling: I love you too, I love you too, I love you." Subsequent pages depict the children fully engaged in nature, observing friendly fish underwater, bees buzzing around their hive, love-struck earthworms, and more; seasons pass, too, bringing the birth of a new sibling for one of the children and the arrival of Christmas. The repetitiveness of the chorus makes this book a more satisfying sing-aloud than a read-aloud, but it's a sweetly affectionate ode to togetherness and love all the same. Ages 1%E2%80%93up. (Apr.)