I Love You: A Rebus Poem

"Every bird loves a tree/ Every flower loves a bee/ Every lock loves a key/ And I love you." Illustrated with great whimsy and charm, this delightful book offers rhymes to read, pictures to decode, and a loving message to share.

"Every bird loves a tree,/ Every flower loves a bee,/ Every lock loves a key,/ And I love you." There's nothing like a love poem to curl up in bed with. And in this ode to love, almost-readers can partake as well as already-readers. Written in a rebus format, with pictures or symbols suggesting words, the book is both a challenge and a comfort. Children will have fun deciphering the rhymes comparing the affection waves have for whales, ducks have for lakes, and socks have for shoes. The refrain, of course, is the universal rebus series of symbols: an eyeball, a heart shape, and the letter u--I love you.

Jean Marzollo is the author of the bestselling I Spy books, including I Spy Gold Challenger. Suse Macdonald is the recipient of the prestigious Caldecott honor for Alphabatics. This simple little book, with bold, bright pictures and very few, very big words, will be just right for a naptime read-aloud. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter