Summary:
I Already Know I Love You is a endearing story told from the perspective of a maternal grandpa. The grandpa describes all of the fun and exciting thing that he can do with his grandchild during all the early stages of a young one’s life. Billy Crystal provides creative descriptive language for the reader to become engulfed in the grandpa’s excitement and love for his unborn grandchild. Elizabeth Sayles creates a wonderful addition to this language with delicately detailed pastel illustrations portraying all of the wonderful activities a grandpa can do with their grandchild.
Citation:
Crystal, B. (2004). I already know I love you. New York, NY: Harper
Collins.
My Impression:
The story creates a sense of peace as you follow this grandfather through his imagination of activities he would like to do with his granddaughter or grandson. I enjoyed the creative pictures that provide an excellent visual to follow the precious moments a grandpa creates with a grandchild. Readers are sure to fall in love with the story and the pictures.
Professional Reviews:
School Library Journal
“As a grandfather-to-be anticipates the birth of his grandchild, he expresses excitement for all of the special moments and activities he can't wait to share: bear hugs, the ocean, a Yankees game, a movie. The rhyming text is basic and yet effective. Crystal manages to come across as sincere rather than sappy so that the special nature of this intergenerational relationship shines through. As the narrator imagines the future, the soft pastel art depicts the baby nestled snuggly in Grandpa's arms. Other pictures show the wide-eyed red-headed child getting older, her grandpa and a fuzzy stuffed monkey by her side. The longevity and importance of this family relationship is thus visually supported and celebrated. After readers see and hear about all of the enjoyable events that will occur, the book comes full circle and ends with the birth of the child, "Get ready, little sweet one-/your life will be just great./I'm going to be your grandpa, and-/I can hardly wait."
Topol, M. (2001, July 1). [Review of the book I already know I love you,
by B. Crystal]. School Library Journal 56(1). Retrieved from
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Kirkus Reviews
“Another celebrity author misses his audience. Undistinguished soft pastels help to tell the rhyming story that begins by depicting a graying man listening at the bulging womb of a young woman (his daughter) and stating, "I'm going to be your grandpa!" Picture-book readers will not identify with the adult perspective and the logic of activities, which has the child sliding into bases and later reverting to bouncing on Grandfather's knee. Young readers will also have difficulty relating to the idea that grandfather is waiting as the baby (sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl, sometimes big and sometimes little) is already in the pictures. And the rhymes are just atrocious. A much better choice would be Harriet Ziefert's Waiting for Baby (1998). (Picture book. 4-8)”
Gross, J. (2001, May 1). [Review of the book I already know I love you, by
B. Crystal]. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com
Uses within the library setting:
1. Allow students to invite their grandpa to school. Choose one grandpa to reread aloud for your students. After reading the story, provide time for each invited guest to share photos of their personal stories about spending time with their grandchildren.
2. After reading the story, allow students to create a temporary “grandpa” section within the library to highlight photos. Have students matte photos of their favorite times with their grandpa to add to the “grandpa” section. Pull other stories about grandpas from within your collection to display along with the photos.
Book Cover: Courtesy of Mansfield Public Library. Retrieved from http://
www.mansfield-tx.gov/departments/library/
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