Yesterday my oldest, Jake, turned 21 years old. It’s a milestone for certain and my heart winced slightly because he’s growing up. Indeed this is good, but let’s face it, a mom misses her children as they grown into their own life. I look at my littlest children and wish I could keep them little. They grow all too fast.
Marianne Richmond captures my thoughts exactly in her new book, If I Could Keep You Little. It made me cry the first five times we read it because it captures that battle of wanting your children to stay little and yet knowing it will keep them from being the very person they were destined to be. It’s a tug o’war of the heart strings that Richmond so precisely captures in her book.
The artwork is fun and really had my six year old engaged. Richmond is not only a writer, but a talented illustrator The colors are as softly spoken and yet as brilliant as her prose.
If I Could Keep You Little has become our nighttime favorite. My children giggle because they see that I say the same things to them and when we read the “but then….” page they see themselves. It’s a great balance and revelation in how the littlest moments empower change and growth, not only for a child, but for a parent.
The books beginning is an amazing journey. The author, Marianne Richmond, created hand-painted cards as individual thank you notes for her well-wishers, following her brain surgery. It was a moment of etiquette that paved the path to her own greeting card company, Marianne Richmond Studios, Inc. The seed was planted and Richmond is now a recognized creator of celebratory books about life, its journeys, and the joy of relationships that bloom in between.
If I Could Keep You Little is a beautiful book that appeals to every age. I enjoy reading it as much as my children and while, I’m able to hold back the tears now when we read it, I can’t deny its message still tugs at my heart strings!
I received a copy of If I Could Keep You Little in order to facilitate and honest review. No other compensation was received. The opinions are my own and in no way influenced by the sponsor. Others experience may vary.