Little Raccoon wants to know when it is that his mother loves him most. Is it when he eats neatly or swims all the way across the pond, or when they huddle together on a snowy winter night? His mother replies, "No.… That's not when" to all of the described scenarios until she finally reveals, "…there is no special time. I love you all the time." Schlein does a masterful job of capturing the naively egocentric voice of an exuberant toddler who is secure in his mother's love and confident that he is the center of her world. Schoenherr's ink-and-acrylic paintings in warm golds and browns echo the warmth of the story. The spreads are rich in cozy detail, and Little Raccoon is irresistible as he playacts in his towel at bath time or cavorts in the trees. Pair this with Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You (Candlewick, 1995) for two bedtime stories that guarantee sweet dreams.--Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.