‘I Give You My Heart’: A Book for Valentine’s Day

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This Valentine’s Day, give something that will last longer than flowers or chocolate. Consider giving a book, one which the recipient can look through over and over, through the years, and remember your love for them. Books last, and the best ones evoke emotion and carry their readers to another place. Whether your Valentine this year is your significant other or your kids, I Give You My Heart by Pimm van Hest and illustrated by Sassafras De Bruyn is an ideal candidate for a Valentine’s Day gift.

With the theme of planting a seed of love, nurturing it, and watching it grow, this book is reminiscent of The Giving Tree but with breathtaking illustrations, intricate page cutouts, and, I feel, a less depressing storyline.

Translated from its original Dutch, I Give You My Heart tells the tale of a boy, love, life, and appreciating what is around you. Through imaginative storytelling through words and pictures, we’re taken on a life-long journey of patience and paying attention to the sometimes subtle messages that life gives you. Its poetic phrasings help set the mood for wonder and unusual gifts, and remind us to slow down a bit, observe what is around us, and realize that the little things are the big things.

As part of the interesting visuals in this book, many of the pages have laser cutouts showing some of the art on the next page (or even the next). This helps tie the events on each page together, weaving them as one long thread of the main character Yuto’s life.

I Give You My Heart is available now and sends a message of connectedness and love to whoever receives it. It is also a perfect book to read during a family storytime. Some of the pages are quite delicate, though, so take care with smaller children.

Take joy in your life. And then pass it on to the next generation.

Note: I received a copy of the book for review purposes.

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