Kisses in your Heart

 Kisses in your Heart by Sonia Bestulic, illustrated by Nancy Bevington (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN: 9781925675924

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

Kisses in your Heart is as warm as a woolly blanket and twice as comforting. Children aged from four to eight years will beam as the young protagonist snuggles into bed and receives kisses from her mum that carry her love inside them. ‘I close my eyes, and I always know, these kisses follow where I go,’ the girl muses. And she is right. Whenever she is feeling the chill of sadness or fear, she remembers the love that ‘burns like a happy star’ in the kisses and begins to ‘glow with pride’.

With just one rhyming couplet per spread, Sonia Bestulic’s text is succinct – but she has made the most of every emotive word. Readers will find their ‘sparkle smile’ as they discover the energy that radiates from the parent–child bond and lights the way during dark times.

Nancy Bevington’s illustrations will melt hearts with their mellow tenderness. The muted tones are perfect for bedtime, as the colour palette calms spirited little souls. With her spiral hair and sweet smile, the protagonist is especially appealing, and the flock of rosy hearts fluttering across the pages emphasises the theme of love at the core of the book.

Kisses in your Heart is a gentle story that is ideal for reading to children before they go to sleep. When they share this book together, parents and children strengthen their relationship and stoke the fire of the ‘love that strongly burns’.