My Little Heart, Ruthie, written by Toni Jannotta and illustrated by Jennifer Mones, is told in rhyme and tells the story of a harpist whose heart has been hurt and abused by life, and she cowers away, afraid of being hurt again. She has a friend who is also a musician, Clyde, who eventually helps to persuade her to free herself from the prison she has made, and to let her music again bring joy not just to herself, but also to others. But even more significantly, the story shows the importance of healing and self-esteem. In this story, music is the healer.

This is a very moving tale, told emotively and illustrated in an impressionistic way that pulls the whole story together and perfectly depicts the spiritual side of the journey that Ruthie is taking. Although described as a tale for children, it is perhaps more suited for an adult market, or certainly an older teen reader who is able to understand the meaning behind the story and relate to the deep emotion within the pages. There is an ethereal quality about the writing, enhanced by the rhyming, which really flows along gently and allows the pain and emotion to surface. The book is accompanied by a music CD which is sold separately to the book. On a practical note, the title could be more prominent on the front cover, but otherwise this is a piece of work that is thought-provoking and quite unique in its approach, and both the writer and the illustrator are to be congratulated.

My Little Heart, Ruthie by Toni Jannotta is a children’s book on social issues that is told in rhyme. This is a book that would appeal most to a mixed audience of children, social workers, counselors, and psychologists. Ruthie is a heart and a classical harpist that has been emotionally wounded from abuse. Ruthie no longer wishes to go out and play due to feelings of self-loathing and blame. Slowly young Ruthie comes to understand how what was done to her was not, in fact, her fault and that she was an innocent victim of the harm done to her.

As a psychology student interested in child psychology, I found My Little Heart, Ruthie by Toni Jannotta to be a wonderful book and resource for children who have suffered and are suffering from abuse. The book is written using easy to understand words that allow abused children to come to understand that they are not at fault in what happened to them; some children might need a little help in interpreting the meaning behind the rhymes, depending on their age and reading ability. The illustrations are beautifully done, but they are more beautiful than simply childlike; I feel that adding faces to the hearts would allow children to better sympathize with the hearts, as it would make them seem more like characters instead of abstract objects. Overall, I feel that this book could prove to be very useful in helping abused children come to understand that they are or were not responsible for the abuse that happened to them.

This book is what kids love and it's a good way to put kids to sleep. This is a one-of-a-kind book, a must for 2019. Words don't even express how much I love this book my kids love it too they want me to read it to them 24/7.