I'll never let you go by Smriti Prasadam-Halls

Ill. by Alison Brown. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408839010
(Age: 3+) Recommended. Bedtime, Love, Family. Reassurance comes with every page as the mother tells her offspring that she will always be there. In simple rhyming sentences, the message is clear: that no matter what happens the mother will be around. Turning the pages the young child will see a variety of animals in different settings with their babies. In one the pair of bears are on a swing, in another over the page, picking brambles. These are followed by a pair of dogs in a house where the pup has drawn on the walls with crayon, but the mother dog does not scold, simply tells the pup that he knows what to do. Over the page a mother crocodile watches as her baby has a small tantrum, but he is reassured that she will wait for him to finish. An excited kangaroo leaps around with Mum there by his side, while a mother koala brushes away her baby's tears. At the end each of the mothers and babies are shown together on one double page with the line of the title, 'I'll never let you go'. This is a wholly comforting story, one that will reassure younger readers that someone is there to watch over them no matter what they do.
The simple rhyming sentences will be easily repeated by the reader, and the illustrations of the animals and their environment will be recognised by many.
Fran Knight