Critter Love

Publishers Weekly

In another fuzzy board book, Kate Spohn does a riff on "All Creatures Great and Small" in Critter Love. As the text describes the virtue of loving all living things ("Love the big/ and the small./ Hug the furry, the sleek,/ the short, and the tall"), the thick cardstock pages feature scruffy strips of fabric on the animals, characters and landscapes. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

While not a book that is limited to Valentine's Day, the message which works every day of the year stress the importance of love and tolerance. Kids are reminded to be kind to critters no matter what their size, skin texture or mobility, which can easily translate into characteristics of a variety of people. We are reminded to listen, love the old and the new, and to "Make friends with all critters...for you are one, too!" The book is ideal for really young children, because the pages are extremely sturdy and should hold up well. They also have fuzzy sections to encourage kids to run their fingers along the tails, bellies, ears, necks and other body parts of the creatures who populate the text. The cover features a big, gray, fuzzy hippo who looks adoringly at the kids stroking her nose (It may not be a good idea to try petting a real one.). 2004, HarperCollins, Ages 3 to 6.
— Marilyn Courtot