Bear of My Heart by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by Margie Moore Ages 1-4 12 pages Little Simon December 2009 Board book     In a follow-up to My Mother Is Mine, Joanne Ryder presents this warm story about a mother bear who introduces her cub to the wonders of nature. The two explore the hills, lakes and caves around them. They also enjoy warm days and cold, starry nights as they snuggle together. From beginning to end, the mother bear repeats the same basic message. She tells her cub, "You are the bear of my heart, dear, and I am the one who loves you." No matter how old they get, the fact that we love our children is, of course, a sentiment we can never repeat enough. This padded board book with its lyrical heartfelt text and cute illustrations is a perfect gift any time of the year, but it is ideal at Valentine's Day and offers just another way of saying to those near and dear to us, "I love you!"     web reviews 7   Bob Walch/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)