Love You Forever

Product Information

Children’s author Robert Munsch published the popular picture book Love You Forever in 1986 as a way of grieving his two stillborn children. Overcome by this loss, Munsch wrote the book as an allegory of the unconditional and lifelong love that parents have for their children. Love You Forever chronicles the life of a boy as he becomes a man, as well as the life of his loving mother as she ages and eventually dies. The book has had two illustrators, Anthony Lewis and Sheila McGraw. As a matter of fact, everybody buys it for everybody. That’s why it sells a lot of copies. I think it’s my best book. So far it has sold about 15,000,000 copies. After returning home, the son pauses at the top of the stairs for a long moment (perhaps grieving the death of his mother). He then cradles his newborn daughter and sings his mother's signature lullaby for her, implying that the cycle will continue. Will they still love me once I'm not an integral part of their everyday lives? What happens when it's not important that I sign their report cards, take them to friend's houses, and cook them dinner? What about once they're ready to move out? Will I be ready for it?! Oh, so many women came to the register clutching the title, weeping into their sodden tissues. I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now.

Love You Forever Analysis - Phdessay Love You Forever Analysis - Phdessay

So, the question is, is this book is sweet or creepy? And the answer for me is it’s mainly creepy. And I think that’s because the sweet and understandable parts don’t outweigh the creepy and red flag–waving ones. Like most things that you consume as a child, you don’t get the subtle and possibly unhealthy undertones until you’re an adult. It’s like finally getting all the adult jokes that made your parents laugh when you dragged them to all those animated films growing up. Empty Nest: Even after the boy grows up and moves out, his mother will sometimes sneak into his house to hold him and sing the song. He's up to all sorts of 9 year old shenanigans...like not wanting to take a bath...and he's still driving his mom crazy. Like children do.

And…yes, I will age myself by sharing that my sons are now in their 40’s and they have kids… my grandkids, that I love forever, too. Okay, just think about if this dad goes on to have the same behavior with his own daughter. The dad sneaking in on the teenage daughter to hold her, or later on when she's married he's climbing through her window to her bed???? Former Teen Rebel: The boy is rather messy and rebellious as a youngster and teenager, with "strange friends and strange clothes and strange music." He grows up to be a regular, well-adjusted man with a nice house and a child of his own. It starts out ok . . . but about the time the kid gets to be a teenager I just start to feel uncomfortable. Would I be ok with my mom slipping into my teenage brothers' rooms while they're sleeping to cuddle and sing a love song? No, probably not.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch | Goodreads

The overall general creepiness is another reason I didn't like this book. I realize that the mother sneaking into her grown son's house via a ladder is supposed to be kind of funny (at least I hope it is), but it is still creepy and weird! Now lets talk about the writing. Repetitive and long-winded. "I'll like you for always" is just a terrible phrase. And what about the son’s neighbors? Even if you don’t want to call the authorities, did no one want to ring him up and say, “Hey man, there’s an old lady climbing up to your window. Do you know her?” Why was no one concerned about any of this? And, now that I’m on this roll, I wonder what kind of message it is sending to young mothers. This woman apparently has no other identity apart from being a mom. She appears to be a single mom, because the dad is never mentioned. The only other authority figure that we hear about is the grandma. But there’s almost no substance to the mom. Madam…why are you crawling? This is your house. You can stand in the doorway. Standing there would be slightly less creepy than crawling. Where It Fully TurnsDespite her occasional aggravation caused by her son's behavior at 2 years old, 9 years old, and as a teenager, the mother nonetheless visits his bedroom nightly to cradle him in her arms, and sing a brief lullaby promising to always love him: My regular publisher felt that it was not really a kid’s book and I ended up doing it with another publisher. This was my 12 year old boy. He was (understandably) freaked out that her son knew the words to this frightening little ditty since the book specifically stated that Mommy made sure he was asleep each time she crept into his room to sing it. So, not only was the mom a lunatic, but the son was evidently cool with it. <--this was particularly worrisome to him. let me say first that I understand this is an allegory about unconditional love between parent/child . . . but does this book come off a little creepy to anyone else? An extraordinarily different story by Robert Munsch is a gentle affirmation of the love a parent feels for their child—forever.