One Sentence Summary
Guess How Much I Love You is a timeless children’s picture book about Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare as they joyfully express their love for each other.
Book Genre
Children’s Picture Book
Main Topic of the Book
The main topic of Guess How Much I Love You is about love, exploration, happiness and the special bond between parent and child.
Key Ideas
- Love: Through beautiful illustrations and endearing dialogue, the book conveys the idea that love is limitless and can’t be measured.
- Exploration: The story encourages children to explore and discover the wonder of the world through their natural curiosity.
- Happiness: At its core, the book celebrates the profound joy that comes from expressing and sharing love.
- Parent-Child Bond: Through Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare’s interactions, the book highlights the special bond between parent and child.
Main Parts of the Book and Short Summary
- Part 1: Big and Little Nutbrown Hare are beloved characters in an idyllic woodland setting. As night falls, Big Nutbrown Hare tells Little Nutbrown Hare how much he loves him. Little Nutbrown Hare responds by a proclamation of love that is greater than Big Nutbrown Hare’s.
- Part 2: This playful dialogue continues back and forth until both hares realize that it is impossible to measure or quantify love. They settle on playing a game of ‘Guess How Much I Love You.’
- Part 3:The hares show love for each other through different actions — Big Nutbrown Hare puts Little Nutbrown Hare to bed, and they cuddle and kiss before falling asleep. In the morning, Big Nutbrown Hare exclaims that “I love you right up to the moon — and back!”
Key Takeaways
- Love is a precious emotion that can’t be measured.
- Exploration and discovering the world can be an exciting journey.
- Expressing and sharing love is a wonderful and joyful experience.
- The parent-child bond is a special and irreplaceable relationship.
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Sam McBratney is an acclaimed British author and former teacher. He wrote the classic children’s picture book Guess How Much I Love You in 1994. The book has since been published in over 50 languages and won numerous awards, including the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award and the Bisto Award.
Target Audience
The target audience for Guess How Much I Love You is primarily young children aged 0 – 6. It is a timeless story that adults can also enjoy reading to kids.
Publisher and First Publication Date
Guess How Much I Love You was first published in the United Kingdom by Walker Books in 1994. It has since been published in many countries around the world.