How many times have watched your little one play from across
the room, or felt their tiny arms around your neck, and thought, I wish I could keep them at this age
forever? If I Could Keep You Little tells of these little moments a parent
captures in their heart as their child grows. The heart of the poem is that
every day of a child's life is precious, as they discover and grow.
Although a parent may sometimes long for the days when their child was teeny
tiny, they are even more excited to see who they are becoming. "If I could keep
you little, I'd kiss your cuts and scrapes. But then I'd miss you learning from
your own mistakes." The illustrations are soft watercolors depicting rosy-cheeked
children and their proud parents, while the font is entertaining and fun,
changing size, style, and color to add emphasis to the words.
This beautiful poem is guaranteed to bring a smile to any
parent's face, as the recognition of some universal 'parent moments' are called
out: kissing boo boos, helping them match clothing, cutting bread into shapes,
reading stories, and more. This is the perfect story to snuggle with and share before bedtime or on days they need a little extra
love. You are encouraged to take the lead on sharing moments from your child's
life where you fell in love with them all over again and wanted to keep them in that
moment forever. Just like the children in the book are growing up and coming
into their own, how has your child shown you that letting them grow up is as
wonderful as having them be little?
I gave this book to my friend to read to her son
Sam. She said she read it with Sam one spring afternoon before a nap, and he
was particularly calm and cuddly. She loved the wonderful memories of Sam's
childhood that the book helped her remember, and she shared some of them with
him after the story. She was in the middle of telling him about the day she brought
him home from the hospital when he fell asleep on her lap. My friend said she
kept Sam on her lap nearly 20 minutes before putting him to bed, just enjoying
the precious snuggle time.
--Audra