OMG! The book "I'll love you forever"!

[livie1205]

I got this for my son when he was a baby and he still has it in his room ,he is 11.I could never get through it without sobbing...I do not think its creepy its just a book...its about a mothers love for her son and how he passes that on to his daughter.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

I think the same thing! The pictures in our book did not help any with this woman crawling across the floor in his bedroom. Then there was the picture at the end with the man carrying his mother and then sitting with her in his lap. It just screamed CREEPY!!!

I know what you mean...

and yet, as kids, I think they would find this reassuring - that "Mommy" would be there for them even when they grow up and leave home, and that her love would never change.

Great, I'm now crying just writing this post! Argh!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Love the book. We didn't read it too often because of the tears! I still tell DS that even when he's 150 years old, he'll still be my baby.

 

[bean]

I really like Robert Munsch. The Paperbag Princess is one of our favorite books. Love that the girl is the one who rescues the boy! But I just can't stand I Love You Forever. If my mother-in-law climbed in our bedroom window to rock my husband..hmm. Just bizarre. To me it is a very creepy book.

 

[alldiz]

My poor DH....I bought that book for DD and DH found it and read it to her.

His Mom just passed a few weeks before....Needless to say my DH was sobbing and my DD calls it the "Crying Book".

My mom is still here....and I sob as well when I read it.
Kinda like the "Christmas Song" and "Terms of Endearment".....Tear inducing items.
Kerri

 

[java]

My oldest used to call that the "Mommy Cry" book when he was 3. It's a tear jerker. I haven't read it to my youngest yet. I don't know if I would still cry. I am guessing a yes. (although yes the mom driving to the son's house and climbing up the window is a little funny now)

 

[Kitty 34]

DS got this at a book fair, he thought it was about a kid loving the potty! (he is in kindergarten)
I read this to him tonight, I couldn't even finish! DS wanted to know why I was crying. I don't think I can read this ever again!

"I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be."

We got that book at a book fair, too. Years ago. I'll never forget when I first started to read the book. I was making spaghetti and thought I would quickly read it to my son while my noodles cooked. Nope, didn't happen. Couldn't make it through the book, it was so sad!! I don't think I ever could read the whole thing dry eyed.

Still have the book even though all my sons are grown.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'll never forget the first time I read this to my first - I think I needed oxygen! And then, cruel me, went on to give it as baby gifts to new moms! Without a warning!

 

[kristilew]

When dd was learning to read and would hold books and recite them from memory, she always read this one: "As long as I'm living, SOB, my baby you'll be"

She thought the huge gulping sob that came out of Mommy must have been part of the the manuscript, it was so consistent.

 

[DramaQueen]

Awww.

My mom used to read that book to my sister and I when we were little.
And before we went to bed everynight we'd all sing the song to each other.
(It became a big thing as to who could say it the fastest!! lol)
It never occured to me how sad the book was when I was little, I just always liked the song.
Now that I'm 19 (and highly emotional at that) I am STUNNED that my mom never cried when reading it! I can't even think about it without tearing up. (Like right now!!)

I can't wait to be able to read this to my child when I'm older.
(hopefully I can get through it without crying!)

It's so sweet that this book means so much to so many people.

 

[paintnolish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU-Lxo4073U&feature=related

Anyone remember that Friends episode where Joey reads it to Emma for her first bday? Chandler cries and says- I wasn't ready for this!

I do think the ladder bit of the book is creepy!
I try to read it as fast as possible, while maintaining some detachment so I don't cry! Horrible!

Tinijacoro- I read an article in Reader's Digest many years ago about "lasts". It made me cry and I didn't even have kids then! I remember one was- the last time I carried you, asleep, to bed!

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I am sorry...but that is just about the creepiest book ever! A mother sneaking into her grown son's bedroom to rock him?? Yeah, just a bit off.

For all of you that don't think it is weird...imagine you MIL climbing through your bedroom window and craddling your DH. AAAAHHHHH!!!

Guess How Much I Love You and Runaway Bunny - Great!

 

[cabmom]

Love You Forever
Love You Forever started as a song.

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
as long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."


I made that up after my wife and I had two babies born dead. The song was my song to my dead babies. For a long time I had it in my head and I couldn't even sing it because every time I tried to sing it I cried. It was very strange having a song in my head that I couldn't sing.

For a long time it was just a song but one day, while telling stories at a big theatre at the University of Guelph, it occurred to me that I might be able to make a story around the song.

Out popped Love You Forever, pretty much the way it is in the book.

My regular publisher felt that it was not really a kid's book and I ended up doing it with another publisher.

One day the publisher called up and said "This is very strange. It is selling very well in retirement communities in Arizona. It is selling in retirement communities where kids are illegal. This is supposed to be a children's book. What is going on?"

"Grownups are buying it for grownups!"

In fact, it turned out that parents buy it for grandparents and grandparents buy it for parents and kids buy it for everybody and everybody buys it for kids.

As a matter of fact, everybody buys it for everybody. That's why it sells a lot of copies. I think it's my best book. So far it has sold about 15,000,000 copies.

Everybody makes up their own song for this book. I would like to put different versions of the song up on this site, now that the site has sound on it. If you send me your version, either as a tape or an audio file or a MR3 file, I will try to put it up in the LOVE YOU page. If lots of people send me their versions, I will not be able to put them all up, but I would like to hear them even if I can't put them on the site.

The way I sing it in the story is just MY version. You are supposed to make up your own.
Robert Munsch

The artist Sheila McGraw used to live beside me and she signed some books for myself and my children.

 

[Donald - my hero]

My kids went to school with Robert's kids and on occasion he would come in and actually READ to the school. what a treat that was.

My mom gave that book to both of our children on their christening day and they are now in the keepsake box for each of them to have. DD is chewed on the front cover cause it was used soooooo much. It is just so true that no matter how od our children get they are STILL our babies <sigh>

 

[freckles and boo]

I both love this book and find it creepy. The sentiment is wonderful and makes me cry. The stalking makes me itchy. I would have my mother evaluated if she put a ladder to my window in the middle of the night.

 

[princesspiglet]

Aw, this book makes me bawl. I never had the pleasure of hearing/reading it when I was a kid since it was first published in 1986, but my mom gave me the book when I was pregnant with DD. She had found it at a yard sale and bawled so much the lady gave it to her for free!

I only make it through to about the 3rd page and I am done. DH has to take over from there...

 

[ferris198]

We too have that book in our house, always makes me cry.
I took my son to a play based on the book, and there was not a dry eye in the theatre.
My mother passed away 4 weeks ago, and her last words to me were Love you forever Susie.

 

[cruiserkaren]

Add me to the creeped out list. We have that book and it's never made me cry. I read it when dd asked to read it. I always had a quizzical, look of disbelief on my face. Now if she asks I just say "let's pick something else." I know for me if my 2 year or 4 year old is asleep I'm NOT going in to rock them and risk waking them up! I don't know...the whole story is just odd to me. :

ETA: I adore Guess How Much I Love You and Someday by Alison McGhee. Someday made me cry in the middle of Target. That one definitely gets to me!

 

[pearlieq]

The idea is that we usually take notice of our children's "firsts" such as: first steps, first words, first bike ride......this book was about cherishing our children's "lasts": "If I had known that was going to be the last time you would run up to me and jump up into my arms, I would have held onto that moment forever."

Dagnabbit, why'd you have to start that? Now I'm sitting here crying at my desk...

Add me to the list of those who can't get through either I Love You Forever or How Much I Love You without dissolving into a mess of tears.

Corduroy always does a number on me too. Even though it has a happy ending I always feel so bad when no one wants him.

 

[alldiz]

Love You Forever
Love You Forever started as a song.

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
as long as I'm living
my baby you'll be."


I made that up after my wife and I had two babies born dead. The song was my song to my dead babies. For a long time I had it in my head and I couldn't even sing it because every time I tried to sing it I cried. It was very strange having a song in my head that I couldn't sing.

For a long time it was just a song but one day, while telling stories at a big theatre at the University of Guelph, it occurred to me that I might be able to make a story around the song.

Out popped Love You Forever, pretty much the way it is in the book.

My regular publisher felt that it was not really a kid's book and I ended up doing it with another publisher.

One day the publisher called up and said "This is very strange. It is selling very well in retirement communities in Arizona. It is selling in retirement communities where kids are illegal. This is supposed to be a children's book. What is going on?"

"Grownups are buying it for grownups!"

In fact, it turned out that parents buy it for grandparents and grandparents buy it for parents and kids buy it for everybody and everybody buys it for kids.

As a matter of fact, everybody buys it for everybody. That's why it sells a lot of copies. I think it's my best book. So far it has sold about 15,000,000 copies.

Everybody makes up their own song for this book. I would like to put different versions of the song up on this site, now that the site has sound on it. If you send me your version, either as a tape or an audio file or a MR3 file, I will try to put it up in the LOVE YOU page. If lots of people send me their versions, I will not be able to put them all up, but I would like to hear them even if I can't put them on the site.

The way I sing it in the story is just MY version. You are supposed to make up your own.
Robert Munsch

The artist Sheila McGraw used to live beside me and she signed some books for myself and my children.

OMG.....I didn't think that book could be any sadder
Holy Crow....I'll never be able to read that book again.
Kerri