People can show love in different ways, explains this book, offering one example on each page. There’s “‘Gentle wake-up’ love,” “‘Handmade lunch’ love,” “‘A seat saved just for you’ love,” “‘Need some help?’ love,” and more. We see parents and teachers being loving to children and children being loving to parents and to friends, as little red hearts bubble around their actions.
Notably, we see children of both same and different genders being loving to each other. The families depicted are of various racial and ethnic identities, and one family includes two dads.
The “five ways” of the title aren’t obvious until one reaches the back matter, though, where author Kellie Byrnes breaks things down to: “Say Nice Things,” “Give a Thoughtful Gift,” “Spend Special Time Together,” “Provide a Kind Touch,” and “Do Something Nice.” These are taken (without attribution here) from Gary Chapman’s 1992 book for grown-ups, The Five Love Languages, but Byrnes provides child-sized examples of how to “speak” them. She importantly notes that physical touch should only be used “provided it’s okay with the other person or animal,” though she doesn’t get into how to determine whether it’s okay. (Try Yes! No! A First Conversation About Consent for that.)
A simple book with important social-emotional lessons.
