Olive, My Love by Vivian Walsh, J.otto Seibold, J. Otto Seibold (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

The beloved—but confused—pup Olive is back! But this time she's not heading off to the North Pole to help Santa. . . . This time she's out to return a one-of-a-kind lost object: a heart. And not just any heart, but a heart as large as Olive's own.


In her search to find its one, true owner, she makes the acquaintance of a cast of characters who show her what it truly means to give all of one's love.


Only J.otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh could have dreamed up this wacky and wittily heartwarming story in which anything can happen if you only follow your heart.

Publishers Weekly

In this love song for admirers of Olive, the Other Reindeer, the Mr. Lunch series and the tried-and-true "Olive"/"all of" homonym, Walsh and Seibold's title pooch has a not-so-secret admirer. Olive has just baked some heart-shaped dog biscuits when she notices a Cupid-like canine fluttering over her house, carrying a red heart and howling (a la Robert Plant?), "All of my love... to you." It's her friend Dexter, who looks like Mr. Lunch with wings. As the pooch flies by, he lets go of the huge heart. " `You dropped all of your love!' Olive called out. But... Dexter had already flown away." Olive and an unnamed black bug (whom youngsters may recognize from the film version of the previous title) glance at each other in alarm, and Olive decides she must return Dexter's lost possession. As they push and pull the unwieldy heart to Dexter's mountaintop cottage, Olive and the bug get help from Handler, a fast-chattering squirrel, and a black-widow spider named Weaver. Like the collaborators' other picture books, this convoluted romance contains an absurd plot and a wealth of comical visual details. A potentially mushy denouement (" `I didn't lose my heart, Olive. I gave it to you,' said Dexter") is swept aside with savoir-faire as the five characters open the heart and sit down for a picnic of bonbons and cookies. In Seibold's digital illustrations, small creatures invariably have outsize personalities, and this book features memorable individuals, old and new. All ages. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Debbie Bohn - Children's Literature

In this whimsical tale of Olive and Dexter, love is in the air literally. Dexter the winged dog flies over Olive's house singing of his love and drops a large heart in Olive's yard. Olive believes that Dexter has lost his heart and decides she will return it to him. She packs up some freshly made dog biscuits and heads for Dexter's house. On her way, she meets a squirrel named Handler and a spider named Weaver. They agree to help Olive get the heart back to Dexter. Olive has to perform a daring feat by flying through the air to get the heart back to Dexter. As she safely lands in Dexter's yard with the heart, Dexter comes out of his house wondering what Olive is doing there. She explains that she is returning his lost heart. Dexter eloquently tells Olive that he had given her his heart as a gift. In the end, Olive and Dexter sit down and have a picnic with their new friends. Olive and Dexter fans will enjoy this new adventure. 2004, Harcourt, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-Olive, the dog that previously came to holiday fame as a wanna-be reindeer, is back in a Valentine-trimmed tale. Dexter, a winged dog, drops a giant red heart ("all of my love") on her doorstep. Believing that he lost it, Olive sets out on an adventure to return it, and a squirrel and a spider help her. When Olive finds Dexter and tries to return the heart, he tells her that it was meant as a gift. The friends open the heart-shaped candy box and enjoy a picnic of bonbons and dog biscuits. While Valentine's Day is never explicitly mentioned, the cover and the story clearly point to it. The narrative has some sweet and clever moments, but for the most part it is a mishmash. The clever squirrel seems to be useful only for his car and the spider, a black widow dressed as a hobo, comes across as strange rather than quirky. Seibold's computer-generated art still has some of the endearing qualities of the original Olive tale, but many of the pages are strangely cropped and text heavy, which detracts from the book's flow. While fans of the plucky heroine may be pleased to have her back, her latest adventure isn't everything it could be.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Lively and sweet, this undisguised friendship tale is offbeat enough to stand out in a crowd. Baking dog biscuits one afternoon, Olive hears her friend Dexter outside singing "all of my love . . . to you," giving fans of Olive, the Other Reindeer (1997) a fresh Olive pun to enjoy. A loud thump, and Olive finds an enormous red heart on her doorstep. She packs biscuits and sets off to return what she assumes was dropped by mistake. Several friends and adventures later, she reaches Dexter and finds out-of course-that the gift of his heart was intentional, and that there are bonbons inside. In tertiary colors, Seibold's Adobe Illustrator shapes mimic cut-outs and play with scale, perspective, and selective shading. A plot that could easily have been corny, instead flourishes with Walsh's direct, matter-of-fact tone and Seibold's shiny energy. (Picture book. 3-6)

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