Sandol Stoddard Warburg’s kids’ book I Like You is really sweet, listing all the reasons the main character likes their friend; it’s a sweet wedding reading that never gets overly earnest or cringey.
Because it’s from the point of view of a young kid to their friend, there are some bits that might sound out of place at a wedding, though. I’ve struck through the verses I’d recommend you leave out!
I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you
And I know why.
I like you because
You are a good person
To like.
I like you because
When I tell you something special,
You know it’s special
And you remember it
A long, long time.
You say,
“Remember when you told me
Something special?”
And both of us remember.
When I think something is important
You think it’s important too.
We have good ideas.
When I say something funny,
You laugh.
I think I’m funny
And you think I’m funny too.
I like you because
You know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
Except
Just a little tiny bit
Sometimes.
But if you do then I know where to tickle you too.
You know how to be silly
That’s why I like you.
Boy, are you ever silly.
I never met anybody sillier than me
Till I met you.
I like you because
You know when it’s time to stop being silly.
Maybe day after tomorrow.
Maybe never.
Oops, too late.
It’s quarter past silly.
We fool around the same way all the time.
Sometimes we don’t say a word.
We snurkle under fences.
We spy secret places.
If I am a goofus on the roofus
Hollering my head off
You are one too.
If I pretend I am drowning
You pretend you are saving me.
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
Then you are getting ready to jump.
That’s because
You really like me.
You really like me,
Don’t you?
And I really like you back.
And you like me back.
And I like you back.
And that’s the way we keep on going
Every day.
If you go away
Then I go away too.
Or, if I stay home,
You send me a postcard.
You don’t just say,
Well, see you around
Some time
Bye.
I like you a lot
Because of that.
If I go away
I send you a postcard too.
And I like you because
If we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me.
And I like you because
When I am feeling sad
You don’t always cheer me up right away.
Sometimes it is better to be sad.
You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute.
You want to think about things.
It takes time.
I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too.
It’s awful when the other person isn’t.
They are so nice and hoo-hoo you could just about
Punch them in the nose.
I like you because if I think I am going to
Throw up then you are really sorry.
You don’t just pretend you are busy looking at
The birdies and all that.
You say, “maybe it was something you ate.”
You say, “the same thing happened to me one time.”
And the same thing did.
If you find two four-leaf clovers
You give me one.
If I find four
I give you two.
If we only find three
We keep on looking.
Sometimes we have good luck
And sometimes we don’t.
If I break my arm and
If you break your arm too
Then it is fun to have a broken arm.
I tell you about mine.
You tell me about yours.
We are both sorry.
We write our names and draw pictures.
We show everybody and they wish they had a broken arm too.
I like you because
I don’t know why but
Everything that happens
Is nicer with you.
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you.
It must have been lonesome then.
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you
But I do.
So many reasons.
On the fourth of July I like you because
It’s the fourth of July.
On the fifth of July
I like you too.
If you and I had some drums
And some horns and some horses
If we had some hats and some
Flags and some fire-engines
We could be a HOLIDAY.
We could be a CELEBRATION.
We could be a WHOLE PARADE.
See what I mean?
Even if it was the nine-hundred-and-ninety-ninth of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January,
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
And that’s how it would happen every time.
I don’t know why.
I guess I don’t know why I like you really.
Why do I like you?
I guess I just like you.
I guess I just like you.