Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist, Mar. 15, 1995 (Vol. 91, No. 14))
An endearing nursery game is beautifully revitalized in this comforting, sleepy-time picture book. A little hare tests his father's love by declaring his own: "Guess how much I love you . . . This much." Jeram's double-page-spread watercolors are just right for the gentle competition that ensues as parent and child each avow affection in ever more expansive terms. Neither sugary nor too cartoonlike, the watercolors, in soft shades of brown and greens with delicate ink-line details, warmly capture the loving relationship between parent and child as well as the comedy that stems from little hare's awe of his wonderful dad. The story ends with a declaration of love so great it reaches "right up to the moon," and little hare finally falls fast asleep. There's not a wrong note in this tender tale, which should become an enduring bedtime favorite--right up there with Goodnight Moon. Category: For the Young. 1995, Candlewick, $13.95. Ages 3-5. Starred Review.

Dr. Judy Rowen (Children's Literature)
It's Little Nutbrown Hare's bedtime. Stalling, he tells his father how much he loves him--as far as he can reach, as high as he can hop. Each time, Big Nutbrown Hare goes him one better--he can reach farther, hop higher. Finally, Little Nutbrown Hare falls asleep. As he gazes protectively at his son, Big Nutbrown Hare whispers some final words of love. Endearing pen and ink/watercolor illustrations complete this sweet tale of familial devotion. It also comes in a board book version and a boxed set that contains stuffed hare and the board book. 1995, Candlewick, $15.99, $6.99 and $15.99. Ages 2 to 7.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 1995)
At bedtime Little Nutbrown Hare poses a hard question to Big Nutbrown Hare: "Guess how much I love you?" and then answers his own question by stretching out his forearms to show him: "This much." When Big Nutbrown Hare responds in kind, since his arms are longer, it appears that his love is even greater, so Little comes up with another demonstration that will top Big. And so the game goes until Little is completely worn out and falls sound asleep. A charming tribute to the guessing game played by many children and their parents is superbly illustrated in pen and ink with watercolor washes in which soft greens, blues and (of course) nutbrowns predominate. The cozy sweetness of the story is ingeniously balanced with a slight edge in Anita Jeram's illustrations which keep it from sinking into overwhelming preciousness. CCBC categories: BOOKS FOR TODDLERS. 1995, Candlewick, 32 pages, $13.95. Ages 18 months-4 years.

P. Barry (Parent Council Volume 3)
Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare play the "guess how much I love you" bedtime game which shows the great love between a parent and a child. A great bedtime story wonderfully illustrated to portray this love. 1995, Candlewick Press, $13.95. Ages 3 mo. to 5.

Susan Patron (The Five Owls, March/April 1995 (Vol. 9, No. 4))
Like that of Margaret Wise Brown's bunny and his mother in Runaway Bunny, Little Nutbrown Hare's dialogue with Big Nutbrown Hare suggests an attentive and loving parent-child relationship. "I love you as high as I can reach," says Little Nutbrown Hare, and raises his forearms straight up, as his much larger father watches. Then, on the next page, the father replies, "I love you as high as I can reach," which is, of course, much higher. On one level, McBratney's story stays close to truths of childhood, realistically capturing the preschooler's efforts to describe a feeling so big, so all-important, as love. But each heartfelt effort is topped by dad, whose love always comes out to be higher, farther, wider, bigger. After several playful but serious verbal rounds with his father, Little Nutbrown Hare's final, poetic choice of metaphor, "I love you right up to the moon," is once again bested by dad. Margaret Wise Brown's 1944 story, a still-popular bedtime book, offers reassurances about parental love to a small child testing boundaries and ends on a light note, as the mother says, "Have a carrot." But where the dialogue and resolution in Runaway Bunny satisfy, Guess How Much I Love You leaves this reader wishing that the child could have the last word--or at least be able to show his own love to be just as huge as dad's. Still, their game-like dialogue is fueled by love, and listeners should be of a mind, at the end, to nod off cozily. Anita Jeram's vivacious watercolors, with their tender characterizations of the hares, are set off by the handsome page layout and elegant typeface. 1995, Candlewick Press, 8-1/2 x 9-5/8, 32 pages, $13.95. Ages 2 to 4.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, 1996)
Little Nutbrown Hare asks his father, 'Guess how much I love you,' then stretches his arms as wide as they go and says 'This much' -- but his father's reach is wider. The little hare keeps trying to top his father until he finally murmurs, 'I love you right up to the moon,' and falls asleep. His father kisses him good-night and whispers, 'I love you right up to the moon -- and back.' Comical and endearing pen-and-ink and watercolor pictures illustrate the pleasant, gentle story. Category: Fiction. 1996, Candlewick, 32pp.. Ages 5 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.