If Animals Said I Love You (If Animals Kissed Good Night)

Surely adult and child pairs reading this together will find ways to mimic the animals’ ways of expressing their love: blowing bubbles and splashing in the tub, a boa-like “squish-hugging squeeze,” and playful wrestling. 

PreS--Full of loving and silly animal relationships, this second collaboration between Paul and Walker is comforting but also predictable. Each animal pair shows their love in active ways, like the lion cousins who "tussle and tumble, romp and roll in a joyful love jumble," or an impala grandma who speaks with a "leapity-leap." Walker's illustrations are soft, rounded, pastel renderings of the different kinds of love between parents, siblings, and friends. Paul's rhyme scheme has pleasing onomatopoeia moments and includes an array of unusual animals, such as a "click-clack"ing secretary bird. VERDICT This animal lovefest will appeal to fans of If Animals Kissed Goodnight, but readers looking for uniqueness or inclusiveness should look elsewhere.--Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"Full of loving and silly animal relationships. . .This animal lovefest will appeal to fans of If Animals Kissed Goodnight." —School Library Journal