Just in time for clear spring and summer evenings, today’s Perfect Picture Book celebrates the love between mothers and their children.
Title: My Love for You is Like the Night Sky
Written & Illustrated By: Laura Smetana
Publisher/Date: Flying Cardinal Press/May 12, 2025
Suitable for Ages: 4-8, and younger
Themes/Topics: parent-child relationships, space, solar system, moon, love, night sky, poetry, lyrical
Opening:
My love for you is like the night sky.
Brief Synopsis: A mother and child revel in the beauty of the night sky as the mother reminds the child of her love.
Links to Resources:
· Check out the Glossary, phases of the moon, and solar system in the back matter;
· Find kid-friendly activities to learn more about space and space exploration;
· Try describing your love of a family member, pet, or special friend by comparing it to something else: My love for you is like…
Why I Like this Book:
With short, lyrical phrases and gorgeous cut-paper watercolor collage, Smetana compares a mother’s love to features of the night sky. I love how the child sits on her mother’s lap on a warm evening with the Big Dipper hovering overhead in the clear sky. Several spreads focus on the sky itself, with the text traveling among the stars, by the moon, and through the tails of a shooting star.
My Love for You is Like the Night Sky is a comforting book – although the vastness of the night sky is evident throughout, it’s clear from the text and the mother-child interactions that the mother is there, protecting her child with a love “as dependable as the phases of the moon.”
All of the action occurs at night, but Smetana sprinkles light throughout, bringing a glow to the scenes that invites readers to pause and reflect on the wonders of space and parental love. I read a digital version of this beautiful book, and I can only imagine how much more vivid the colors will be in the print version.
My Love for You is Like the Night Sky is a welcome addition to bedtime story and cuddle sessions. During warmer months, I can imagine families grabbing blankets and sitting outside stargazing, as the mother and child do here.
A Note about Craft:
By comparing a mother’s love to objects in the night sky, Smetana not only renders the depth of that love more understandable, but she illuminates those objects and instills curiosity in children. Like in her 2023 award-winning My Love for You is Like a Garden, Smetana adds an additional layer to her lyrical text and colorful illustrations that expands the marketability of this new picture book.
Note: I received access to a digital review copy in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 