by Matthew Vire and C. Kevin Wanzer

Illustrated by August Wilde

 

A bedtime story about unconditional love, written for a child and felt by everyone who reads it.

 

I Love You When began as a promise, written to reassure a soon-to-be-adopted child that he is always loved, no matter what. It has since found its way into the hands of parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who has ever needed to hear or say those words without conditions attached.

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It's also become a quiet staple in the adoption and foster care world. Caseworkers, foster parents, therapists, and counselors reach for it often as a gift, a read-aloud, an adoption-day gift, or simply something to have on hand for the children they work with.

 

Illustrator August Wilde designed the parent and child characters to be deliberately gender-ambiguous, so that more children and families might see themselves on every page. The text is set in OpenDyslexic, a font designed to improve readability for people with dyslexia.

 

It’s simple, touching, rhythmic, and powerful—a message for adults and children alike.

 

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