How do I love thee, Kathryn Cristaldi (author) & Kristyns Litten (illustrator) count the ways! And they’re hilariously unexpected. A brief post, but I wanted to make sure I annotate these two titles as they are true gems.
Using wildlife as a premise, readers declare their ever-lasting love by following animal’s crazy antics across the pages. We see sloths in yoga pants & sheep in captain caps. Till the Cows Come Home focuses on animals travelling, long journeys that again, reiterate just how much and how long a parent or caregiver would love a child. Till the Crocodiles Smile focuses more on verbs or animal gestures like “laugh” or “rant”. The rhymes and doings are no less creative in the sequel, however.
Full disclosure: I first heard the idiomatic expression “’till the cows come home” from an Irish co-worker & I thought it was so funny & pastoral. Cristaldi obviously plays on the humor of that’s how long I’ll love you, while creating surprising & amusing expressions of her own. Litten’s illustrations are crème de la crème & add to the amusement.
Go give them a read! The books are a reminder that love can be a fun ruckus, not always sentimental. I cannot wait to give their recently published title a read (see below), but will probably wait until spooky season to do so!
These books are perfect for ages 0-8, but even adults will enjoy them. Translation will be difficult as there are rhymes, but you can always comment in Spanish, or you native language.
Biblioterika 