Do You Love Me, Dad?

This intriguing picture book is a bit of a paradox. In barely 150 words it provides a touching account of an unusual father-son relationship, in which the father is too inarticulate to tell his son that he loves him. Instead, he sublimates his lonely obsession with boxes of all kinds into an expression of devotion, converting the boxes into splendid toys that the boy and his friends can enjoy. That, apart from the lively, uncomplicated, radiantly colourful illustrations, is all there is to it, yet in a text that almost mimics the reticence of the box collector, the author, like the father, succeeds in expressing powerful and complex messages. This is a subtle book whose message is at the same time highly accessible to the very youngest readers.