You Have My Heart

you-have-my-heart

Corinne Fenton (text), Robin Cowcher (illus) You Have My Heart, Five Mile Press,  1 April 2016, 32pp., $14.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760401917

Corrine Fenton has created a deceptively simple text that reads like a free verse poem describing the different sorts of emotional days we can experience, from the tearful to the joyful.  Less than sixty words in length, the text is based on Parrot’s classification of six primary emotions: happiness/joy, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and love. It ends with a positive declaration that whatever the circumstance or emotion “You have my heart.” While the text was originally conceived for Mother’s Day, its succinct honesty permits it to be utilized for a variety of situations where an assertion of love is appropriate.

Robin Cowcher’s minimalist line drawing and limited palette of watercolours complement the economy of the text allowing the uncluttered sparseness of the page to capture the breadth and depth of the emotions revealed.

You Have my Heart is an unpretentious text yet it speaks to the intensity of our emotions and in particular the profundity of love. Its universal message and uncomplicated language make it suitable for a broad range of readers from primary school children to adults.

Reviewed by John Nolan

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