You are my I Love You

I have recently come to appreciate children's literature.  I enjoy the illustrations in the books as much as the words.

One of my favorite children's books is called "You are my I Love You" written by Maryann K. Cusimano (illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa. Published by Philomel Books, New York.)

I love the pace of the language, the parallel structure of the sentences and the profound meaning in the simple phrases.  The water colors are equally simple but full of warmth and emotion.   Below are several phrases and illustrations from the book followed by my own version at the end of this post.

YOUR ARE MY I LOVE YOU by Maryann K. Cusimano

I am your parent; you are my child.

I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle.

I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your audience; you are my clown.

I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.

I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.



I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race.

I am your good-night kiss; you are my I love you.


I was so moved by this book, that I was inspired to write my own version using the same repeating sentence structure.

Gigi's Version

I am your parent; you are my child.

I am your eat your vegetables; you are my can we have ice cream.

I am the start of your after-school play date; you are the end of my work-day.

I am your social secretary;  you are my social butterfly.

I am your hair color, skin tone and eyebrows;  you are my hair color, skin tone and eyebrows.

I am your cheekie; you are my pooka.

I am your role model; you are my hope and dream.

I am your driver; you are my passenger.

I am your photographer; you are my subject.

I am your dress buyer;  you are my canvas.

I am your childhood 1.0; you are my childhood 2.0.

I am your hurry, hurry, hurry; you are my slow, slow, slow.

I am your long days;  you are my short years.

I am your tired and overwhelmed parent;  you are my caring and comforting child.