I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know

by Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson, Joy Hwang Ruiz (Illustrator)

Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know is a touching and heartfelt ode about the way we feel for our children, by award-winning actors of stage and screen Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nicolette Robinson, and illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz.

Do you remember when we first met?
It was a moment I won’t soon forget.
Your sparkling aura. Your crooked grin!
Do you remember, my trusted friend?
When I count all my blessings, you’re always number one.
Sweetest of all is, we’ve only just begun.

The love we feel for our children never wavers. From the moment a baby is born, through the good times and the bad, from the silly moments to the warm embraces, this love is bigger than what we can put into words.

This beautiful book is a comforting and lyrical refrain about the bonds we form with the children to whom we are closest in our lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250265647
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	03/28/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	206,674
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD420L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Two-time Academy Award nominee, Tony and Grammy Award winning performer and musician, Leslie Odom Jr. is a multifaceted multi-hyphenate, who is probably most known for his performance as Aaron Burr in the original Broadway production of Hamilton. He was nominated for an Emmy award for his work in the filmed version of the musical released on Disney+. I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know is Odom, Jr.‘s second book after Failing Up. Odom, Jr. resides in Los Angeles with his beautiful and brilliant wife, Nicolette, and their two children, the apples of his eye!

Nicolette Robinson made her Broadway debut to great acclaim starring as Jenna in Waitress. Robinson was the first Black woman ever to take on the duties of the leading lady in the celebrated production. Film and television credits include One Night in Miami, The Affair, and Love in the Time of Corona, among others. Nicolette is the proud mother of two beautiful children that she shares with her husband and co-author, Leslie.

Joy Hwang Ruiz is an artist and mom who started the popular Instagram account Mom Is Drawing to capture the magic of new parenthood and celebrate family life in a diverse and inclusive world. Now the illustrator of several picture books, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

07/17/2023

“When I count all my blessings,// you’re always number one.// Sweetest of all is...// we’ve only just begun.” Odom and Robinson’s rhymes capture the unconditional love that various caregivers feel toward children in this poetic tribute. Hwang Ruiz’s chromatic digital renderings have a luminous quality as they depict arrayed family formations of various abilities, body types, and skin tones doting on cherubic infants and toddlers—chestfeeding and cuddling, and enjoying mealtime and playtime, bath time and bedtime. A view of children wreaking havoc in the kitchen leans into the joyous messiness of family life, and a birthday celebration spread is full of smiling partygoers. Repeated use amplifies the driving sentiment: “Day by day,/ as I watch you grow,/ I love you more/ than you’ll ever know.” Ages 3–6. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Husband-and-wife team and Broadway stars Odom and Robinson offer up an ode to the bond between parents and their growing children...The tender verse exudes love and reassurance, while Hwang Ruiz’s bright digital illustrations depict everyday moments...A gentle testament to one of the few things that never changes—a parent’s love." -Kirkus

"Odom and Robinson’s rhymes capture the unconditional love that various caregivers feel toward children in this poetic tribute. Hwang Ruiz’s chromatic digital renderings have a luminous quality as they depict arrayed family formations of various abilities, body types, and skin tones doting on cherubic infants and toddlers." -PW

From the Publisher

2022-12-14
Husband-and-wife team and Broadway stars Odom and Robinson offer up an ode to the bond between parents and their growing children.

Starting with a Black couple—perhaps stand-ins for the authors—and their little ones, the book portrays racially diverse families joyously engaged in a variety of activities (breastfeeding, cuddling on the couch, blowing bubbles in the park) as their babies mature. Addressed from parent to child (“Do you remember / when we first met? / It was a moment / I won’t soon forget”), the tender verse exudes love and reassurance, while Hwang Ruiz’s bright digital illustrations depict everyday moments. Toasty yellows, browns, and tans, along with vibrant greens and purples, make each page glow with an effervescent warmth that feels like a cozy embrace. Many books are devoted to the bond between parents and babies, but this one celebrates the transition from baby to toddler and toddler to big kid. The rhyming text lends itself well to emerging readers as well as to a bedtime read for the very young. The book depicts a variety of families, including some with parents who appear to be same-sex as well as a parent who uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A gentle testament to one of the few things that never changes—a parent’s love. (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews