I Believe in You

Written and illustrated by

Marianne Richmond

Also available from author & illustrator Marianne Richmond: The Gift of an Angel The Gift of a Memory Hooray for You! Text and illustrations copyright © 2011 Marianne Richmond www.mariannerichmond.com Cover and internal design © 2011 by Sourcebooks, Inc. Cover design by Krista Joy Johnson/Sourcebooks, Inc. Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 Fax: (630) 961-2168 www.jabberwockykids.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the publisher. Source of Production: Leo Paper, Heshan City, Guangdong Province, China. Date of Production: April 2011 Run Number: 14999 Printed and bound in China. LEO 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The Gifts of Being Grand I Love You So… Dear Daughter Dear Son Dear Granddaughter Dear Grandson Dear Mom My Shoes Take Me Where I Want to Go Fish Kisses and Gorilla Hugs Happy Birthday to You! I Love You So Much… You Are My Wish Come True Big Sister Big Brother If I Could Keep You Little The Night Night Book Beautiful Brown Eyes Beautiful Blue Eyes I Wished for You, an adoption story I Believe in You Daddy Loves Me! Mama Loves Me! Grandpa Loves Me! Grandma Loves me! Pink Wiggly Pig

Find more heartfelt books and beautiful gifts for all occasions at www.mariannerichmond.com

is dedicated to my four kids... I will always be on your team!

You came into our family with a big, BIG job to do, t h e o n e o f g ro w i ng up i nt o

the one and only you!

Some days, it’s super easy.

And others? Kind of tough.

Monday’s “bring it on!” turns into

” ! s ’ “ y h h a a g d d enou F ri

Whether it’s sunny or stormy,

whether you’re â•… happy or blue,€



I’m here to say, without a doubt,

that

I b e li ev e in y o u !

When your project seems too hard, and you want to go to bed,

ng

I

l e b

e v ie

i n yo u r s m a r t t h i n k i

to learn and grow instead.

When the team you like says, “No,

some other kid will play,”

I believe in your awesome skills i n e an h s o other way.€ t

When the monsters in your closet seem too big for you to fight,

I believe in your true courage

to know it’ll be all right.

When you make a big mistake or you choose a hurtful way,

I be s t a l ie v nd -u e i pt

n r u yo u th r

to say what you should say.

p and u ips dow d y n a d he a st e r ri de o t c r e , n l l e o r a Wh e li k in your quick l e v e i l e a

Ib

ug h

t o l ov e t h e l o w s a n d h i g h s.

rror i m e h t o t n i k When you loo

and question who you see,

I believe in your true beauty

tha t s hine s th

rough

m y ou to me . o r f

W

ev n e h

so g in k d n o a o l h g , u g o n t tr o s

n ds t a ll , a t s e s l e e er y o n

I be

in e liev

av r b your

it r i p es

that’s in you all along.

When your best friend is unkind

or doesn’t want to play with you,

I believe in your playful heart f r ien ds wh o do ! w e n i nd f to

n le a rn i ng s e h om eth in g new W makes you want to stop and quit,

I believe in your great attitude,

g o t

d c o n qu e r i t n a ! o

Your job of

growing up

takes hard work, I know, but each day is an adventure. Each problem helps you grow.

I

t you to n a w I d ber, n m e m A re

’m

w o t re e h

ri d e. e h t h atc

I believe in one

amazing

you

with all my love and pride!