Module 1: I Already Know I Love You by Billy Crystal (SLIS 5420 review)

Summary: I Already Know I Love You is a sweet picture book where a grandfather tells his unborn granddaughter about all the things he wants to do with her once she’s born. He talks about milestones like going to the circus, flying kites, and taking her to her first movie. He just can’t wait to meet his “little sweet one.”

Citation: Crystal, B. (2004). I Already Know I Love You. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Impression: This picture book written by actor Billy Crystal and illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles is absolutely charming. It’s one of those books that makes you want to curl up with a loved one and tell family stories and reminisce about days gone by. It is based on Crystal’s own experience, which gives the sentiments expressed in the book a genuine, heartfelt quality. Sayles’ soft illustrations match the tone of the book perfectly. Grandparents will relate to the things the grandfather wants to experience with his granddaughter, like seeing her in her Brownie uniform and taking her to a baseball game. I Already Know I Love You is similar to books like Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman, and grandparents will want to share this sweet book with their grandchildren.

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. (2004, June 01). [Review of the book I Already Know I Love You, by B. Crystal and E. Sayles]. School Library Journal 56(1). Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

Uses in a library: This would make a great storytime book because of the endearing illustrations and the rhyming text. Librarians or teachers working with older children could take it to the next level by having the children discuss what they think their grandparents or parents wanted to tell them before they were born, or even having them write a story like I Already Know I Love You from their own grandparents’ perspective.