Junior's Top 100 Children's Books 1-10

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7. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram (Walker, £6.99)

Many of the most enduring children’s books are seemingly the most simple in design. In Sam McBratney’s modern classic, first published in 1994, a big cuddly hare and a little cuddly hare exchange expressions of love in a warm and reassuring way that any child at bedtime could enjoy. Coupled with Anita Jeram’s gentle illustrative style, it’s not hard to see why this book has sold 18 million copies worldwide.
Yet there is a deeper appeal to this picture book: it touches on how strange an abstract concept like ‘love’ can be for a small child. With an economy of words and a restrained humour, McBratney achieves this. “I wrote it to say something meaningful and humorous, using as few words as possible,” he explains.

Buy Guess How Much I Love You

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