Mama, Will I Be Yours Forever?

Bear cub Sammy and his mother observe nature’s changes in this sweetly reassuring companion to Mama, How Long Will You Love Me? and Mama, Will You Hold My Hand? A caterpillar will soon become a butterfly, Mama explains, and “a spotty egg hatches into a baby bird.” Pignataro paints in the palest of palettes, tracing the two bears and various objects in wispy pencil lines. Boarding a small ship, Sammy imaginatively travels beyond the security of the meadow home; upon his return, the conversation inevitably turns to whether Sammy will change: “ ‘You will become big and strong,’ whispered Mama. ‘But you will be my little bear forever.’ ” Ages 3–5. (Mar.)