Books on Love

These books on love are the next addition to my character development series. As a reminder, I have a series on character that can be found as you hover over the character development tab on my site as pictured below:

This character series has been written over the past 2+ years and has activities, crafts, verses, “I Will” statements and lessons dealing with 52 different character traits, one for each week of the year. I call this the heart of my blog and really hope it becomes a resource for you as you are training up your children to know and love God and be contributing members of this world. If you are new here, please join me for a Meaningful Mama tour to learn more. My goal this year is to be adding literature to my character development series.

The Berenstain Bears: God Loves You! (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

God Gave Us Love – This book explores the different kinds of love there are in the world. It talks of the love of God, the love of others (even when we don’t like them at the moment), the love of family and the love the little cub sees between his parents, which is way too gushy for him. It talks about how love is how God brings out the best of us and how we can spread God’s love by loving one another. I really enjoy how it talks about choosing love, even when we don’t feel like it. I think that message is lost today. Love isn’t a feeling, it is a sacrificial choice. The next generation needs to hear that message so that we can keep marriages healthy and reflecting God’s unconditional love. This books speaks of the God-sized love for us in sending his son so that our sins can be forgiven. I highly recommend this book, which gives a thorough yet approachable look at love and is perfect for a child’s understanding.

The Velveteen Rabbit Gift Set: Or How Toys Become Real – This is a gift set my kids received from one of their aunts, so we got the book and the Velveteen Rabbit stuffed animal, which I think is a great gift idea. The “Velveteen Rabbit” is a true classic about how toys become real when they are truly loved. A toy isn’t real because it is beautiful or fancy or has springs that make it do wondrous things. A toy is truly loved when it is played with so much it is worn and used. This is the story that shows a stuffed animal’s journey to understanding what real love looks like.

The Berenstain Bears Love Their Neighbors (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

I Love You: A Keepsake Storybook Collection – This is a collection we have in our home, and I love it. It has three stories in it – “I Love You Because You’re You,” “I Love You, Stinky Face,” and “I Love You Through and Through.” My kids gravitate back to “I Love You, Stinky Face” most often and with good reason. We really enjoy all the stories though. They are a favorite at bedtime around here. It’s so great to have the last words they hear from you in a day about love…that is, of course, unless they come out of their room a million times and make you mad. That said, I would highly recommend this story compilation. We received it as a gift when the kids were young and I think it would be a great and inexpensive gift to pass along to another.

Guess How Much I Love You – This is a classic with which I’m sure you are familiar. If not, you need to run out and get this book immediately. It is a favorite of most with good reason. You may have seen that I even personalized this book for my husband as a Valentine’s gift one year. This is a story of how a child is trying to explain to his father how big his love is for him. The only problem is, the father can always explain it bigger and greater than the child’s love. This is such a heart warming story that is a “must have” in your collection.

Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You – Beautiful artwork drives the sweet message of love in “Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You.” It is a rhyming book, which always brings a cadence and flow that kids love. It shows how love will find this child no matter what they are doing or where they are going. Each page has a drawing of a child who seems so free in their movement , and most pages have gorgeous animals accompanying that child on their path. I never know if this book is written from the perspective of God or a mother, but either way it displays the depth of love your child has in their life.

Awesome Book of Love! – This is just a happy book. It makes you feel good about life and love. It has colorful, fun illustrations and great thoughts about the depth that love can reach. I just call this book fun, whimsical and heart warming.

Love Waves – “Love Waves” is a great book for those parents who work outside the home. This book illustrates how the child is in your heart and thoughts even while you are away. The parents send their love waves out as they consider their child throughout the work day. This is very much a reality for a lot of our nation, and it is helpful for a child to hear the love the parents have for them even when they are away. I am a big proponent of being home with kids and sacrificing levels of comfort to make it happen. That said, I am hugely aware and respect greatly the parents who don’t have an option and must work to make life happen. Heading off to work every day is a sacrificial gift that many have to give to just help their families survive. This book can help support families who, out of love, head to work every day.

His Mighty Warrior: A Treasure Map from Your King – I thought this book would belong here, which is why it is pictured. However, I’m going to save this book for my character trait “courage.”

Don’t Spill the Milk! – I enjoy books that teach my kids about other cultures. This books is a story that takes place in Africa. It is about a little girl who wants to take her daddy milk at lunch time. Her care as she travels across the African land is evident as she keeps telling herself, “Don’t spill the milk.” Her father teaches her, in the end, that the bowl contained much more than milk. It was piled high of her love for her dad, as witnessed through the care in her travels.

Yummiest Love – This is a great book for moms and dads to read to their kids and really absorb. It makes me want to be a better mom. It shows the love we have for our children as they are…well, being children. It makes we want to slow down, be present and do things right. There are things as a mom that frustrate me, and in this book it just talks about the love that the parent has through all these moments in parenting – moments I need to embrace more. The book really shows the perspective of a mother or father who really learns to pay attention to the special little moments of a day and realize that their loves is an underlying thread in all of it.

One Love – This is a book based on the song of Bob Marley, adapted by his daughter Cedella Marley. I love the colorful illustrations in this book. In ways, I enjoy this book but coming from a perspective of God creating the world, it’s hard to fully embrace a line like, “One love, what Mother Earth gives the tree.” That said, the thought of us beating as one heart and the world coming together in more love is compelling. That said, we know that will only happen when Christ returns to establish his earthly kingdom. Although a bit hippy in nature, it does have a sweet message of unity and love.

Love You Forever

You: A Story of Love and Friendship

Fourteen More Books on Love Can be found at No Time for Flashcards.

More Books on Love at Parenting.com.

Ten More Books on Love at Moments a Day.