I Love You More Than Ice Cream

PreS-K--The "I love you more than" game gets fanciful treatment in this bright and bubbly bedtime book. A young narrator takes us through her bedtime routine each night of the week with a different caregiver: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and even the family dog--for whom she takes on the role of caregiver. The rhyming, repetitive prose showcases imagination and silliness through a familiar set of rituals every child will recognize: "Mommy loves me more than doughnuts dancing in high heels/ But I reply 'I love you more than pizza Ferris Wheels.'" Other family members imagine dinosaurs and aliens, dancing animals, pirates and narwhals, castles and superheroes. Watkins's colorful illustrations pop off the page and bring the elaborate scenarios to life, including "dinosaurs in ballroom dresses sewn in stars" and "a conga line with happy, dancing cats" among others. Her depiction of color and motion combined with the exuberance of Davies's text accurately evoke the energy of a kid at that time of night. VERDICT A perfect book to be savored again and again in the lap of a loved one, this delightful story deserves a place on most library shelves.--Kristy Pasquariello