Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love is an award winning international educator and New York Times Best Selling author. Dr. Cusimano Love has spoken to audiences from suburban pre-schoolers, to inner city children, to military officers and diplomats and CNN International. A winner of Harvard University’s Pew Faculty Fellowship for teaching, and Catholic University’s Teacher of the Year Award, Maryann Cusimano Love is an effective presenter who favors participatory techniques. Maryann has been working with children since she was a teen–as a clown, story-teller, singer, puppeteer, and caregiver. You Are My I Love You and You Are My Miracle arose out of her work with children, especially the PeaceKids group in the Sursum Corda housing project in Washington, DC. Maryann lives on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband, Richard Love, and their daughter Maria. She is a tenured associate professor of international politics at Catholic University, and a member of the Authors Guild and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

From Connie Fletcher

In the tradition of Margaret Wise Brown's Little Bunny, this book celebrates mother-child love and offers reassurances about a mother's watchful presence when her child begins to explore. Two teddy bears, mother and baby, play outdoors, with an assemblage of tiny stuffed animals looking on. On each double-page spread, a statement juxtaposes images of comfort and security with those of exploration and risk-taking: "I am your calm place; / you are my giggle"; "I am your open arms; / You are my running leap." After a full day of play, it's bedtime: "I am your good-night kiss; / you are my / I love you." The gentle watercolors sweetly capture the loving mother and child and the fun they are having. Thought provoking as well as delightful, this is a good choice for reading aloud.

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