Windy Hollow, Australia, 2026
Design by Nuovo Group
Love can be both gentle and intense at the same time. And thus it is in Sarah Wallace’s story Learning You By Heart.
The need of a mother to keep her child always in her heart and mind is portrayed here in a comprehensive run down of every precious detail – the face with its button nose, the wispy hair, the little toes, the eyes and smile, the arms reaching in mute request to be lifted up, the infectious giggles.
In the daily activities special rituals develop, which enhance that singular closeness – bathtime which evinces laughter, the reading of the bedtime story, cuddles, and finally sleeping time.
While every parent knows this to be an idealised view, it is no less touching. We can easily put aside the more challenging times of parenting a baby and toddler, choosing to keep in our memories the immeasurable love we felt and feel for the child we made and nurtured.
The story is cleverly illustrated by Michelle Conn, who captures the facial expressions of mother and child, and also their different perspectives – the looking up and the looking down from their relative heights.
Especially cute and well-observed is the insertion of the ginger tabby cat into so many parts of the day. This is astute illustration – cat owners will relate to the ever-present cat insinuating him or herself into every activity from bath rituals (casually licking the paws from a discreet distance) to the bedtime story session, where the feline can be seen assertively draped over the back of the easy chair and encroaching on the mother.
The artist’s palette also tells the tale of the passing hours moving from the greens and yellows of the sunlit garden or park with its morning shadows to the purply mauve of the starry night sky.
This is a tender book, an expression of the particular grace which the love for one’s child can bestow. It will bring a soothing tranquillity to end of day or nap time reading for parents, grandparents and early childhood teachers.
Thank you to Windy Hollow for my review copy and to Sarah for speaking with me about the importance of gentleness in children’s literature and about the desire to hold onto that intense love of parent and child.