No Matter What by Debi Gliori

Gliori, D. (1999). No matter what. Mascot, N.S.W.: Koala Books.

 If you are looking for a really special picture book to read to your preschool children, I can strongly recommend Debi Gliori’s No Matter What. The book is about a little fox who is having a grumpy and anxious day, feeling very unloved. His mother notices his unhappy mood and responds by giving him lots of attention, reassuring him that she will always love him, ‘no matter what’. Not convinced, the little fox gives her lots of ‘what ifs?’ and the large fox cuddles her little cub while she answers his questions and quells his anxiety, making him feel loved and secure.

Debie Gliori is a Scottish award-winning author and illustrator who has written over 50 picture books as well as some books for older children.  The illustrations in No Matter What are stunning, with great attention to detail and Debie's love of nature and the outdoors shines through.  The colours are bright and the expressions on the foxes' faces are priceless.

The story is written with rhythm and rhyme, and my children loved to join in with the phrase ‘no matter what’ when I read it to them.  But to me, the outstanding thing about this simple story is the message. It is so easy to end the story with a hug for your own child, and the reassurance that ‘you will always love them, no matter what’.

Title: No Matter What
Author: Debi Gliori
ISBN; 0864611773
Published: 1999
Publisher: Koala Books