The Little One Asks

The reassuring nature of a parent’s unconditional love for a child is at the core of Gormally’s (The Little Flower Bulb) kindhearted but slight picture book. The “little one,” a young pajama-clad animal that resembles a raccoon, bounces into Mum and Dad’s bed asking the big question alluded to in the title: “Do you love me?” The patient parents, who look like stylized pandas, respond with the sort of comforting phrases familiar to many young readers: “I love you with every beat of my heart.” Mum and Dad expound on this theme by sharing their “story,” essentially a litany of all the instances they feel love for their child, from “when your face beams with laughter,” to “when you chase us round the garden with worms and beetles.” As background to the super-cozy proceedings, Loki and Splink (two Irish graffiti artists) create an anthropomorphic family cuddled in candy-colored rooms filled with pastel pillows and pink-heart wallpaper as the sun smiles in the window. Ages 5–8. (June)