How Do I Love Thee?

Beginning with the famed opening line, “How do I love thee?/ Let me count the ways,” Adams (the My Little Cities series) restages Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet using modernized language. Three children wander and explore outdoors: “I love thee in soft sunlight/ and rain-drizzled night./ I love thee with a whisper/ and a song/ and a ROAR.” In clear, spacious scenes featuring grainy textural details by Neal (Everyone), the children lie hand in hand beneath a tree, dash through the rain, and climb on a large stone lion. Finally, they fly via triangle-shaped kites to their neighboring houses, where they are welcomed by their guardians: “And at end of day’s/ goodnight kiss./ And I will always love thee.” Adams includes brief biographical lines about Browning, as well as the original poem, which she honors through this accessible adaptation. Ages 4–8. [em](Dec.) [/em]