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Five Mother’s Day Books for Children 2023

May 8, 2023
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Ages 0-3, Ages 2-6, Ages 3-7, Animals, Board Books - Interactive Books, Children's Book Reviews, Children's Books > Social Situations > Family Life > New Experiences, Holidays & Celebrations, Humorous Stories, Juvenile Fiction, Juvenile Fiction - Family Juvenile Fiction - Animals, Juvenile Nonfiction, Mother's Day

A ROUNDUP OF
FIVE MOTHER’S DAY BOOKS FOR CHILDREN 2023

MOMS CAN DO IT ALL!
Written by Ted Maass,
Illustrated by Ekaterina Trukhan
(Grosset & Dunlap; $8.99, Ages 0-3)

This 18-page rhyming board book lovingly portrays moms as positive role models for little ones. Maass and Trukhan hooked me with an illustration that shows a mom typing on her laptop beside Baby accompanied by this text, “Some moms use their imaginations to become writers, …” Alongside that one, the sentence ends “while others use their courage to become firefighters,” depicting a mom extinguishing a building on fire. Kids will see moms as architects, pilots, athletes, actors, newscasters, and working behind the scenes (in this case behind a camera). The scenes with mom as a homemaker show how busy she is looking after her home and family. Moms also teach, build, nurse, and farm. In fact, children will see there’s actually nothing moms cannot do, which in turn applies to their children when they grow up. An inspiring message to share this Mother’s Day! There’s a place to write in a dedication in the front making this a sweet gift a child can offer to their mom or vice versa!

The colors Trukhan uses in Moms Can Do It All! are bold, bright, and energetic. Her characters, not outlined, are composed of simple shapes that will appeal to the young audience. • Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

ARE YOU MY MOMMY?
Lift-The-Flap Stories
Written by Yulia Simbirskaya
Illustrated by Katerina Veselova
(Clever Publishing; $10.99, Ages 2-6)

I never tire of lift-the-flap books and I’m sure it’s the same for your kids. Are You My Mommy? is a sturdy 10-page board book that takes place on a farm. The bucolic setting is a perfect backdrop for Calf’s journey to find his mother.

A nice feature is that as Calf approaches each animal asking if they’re his mommy, the response includes the sound the animal makes. For example “Are you my mommy?” he asks Hen. Then, lift Hen’s flap to read “No my babies are chicks,” Hen clucks. “Ask Cat.” Here toddlers are also introduced to the various names of animal babies such as chicks, kittens, lambs, puppies, ducklings, foals, and piglets in the artwork under the flap. It ends with six flaps under which are the sounds made by that particular animal. Readers will also find vocabulary words to match the art in the final spread such as sun, house, tractor, bush, and sunflower. If you’re looking for an adorably illustrated interactive book for Mother’s Day that includes an educational element to it, check this one out.
• Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

SUPERMOMS!: Animal Heroes
Written by Heather Lang and Jamie Harper
Illustrated by Jamie Harper
(Candlewick Press; $17.99, Ages 3-7)

A Junior Library Guild Selection

From the Publisher: “In comics-style panels full of facts and humor, this lively picture book investigates the amazing lengths animal mothers go to in caring for their young.”

Authors Heather Lang and Jamie Harper tap into kids’ fascination with superheroes to share fun (and funny) facts about animal mothers in this first installment of their new Animal Heroes series from Candlewick.

Whether Mom is building a home underground to keep her young safe from predators [groundhogs] or separating her young to keep them safe from each other [strawberry poison frog], kids will find plenty to giggle at in Supermoms!

The classic cartoon-style art in comic-book panels (complete with speech bubbles) pairs perfectly with expository nonfiction text to add humor and instant kid appeal. And maybe…just maybe…inspire young readers to think about all the amazing qualities and sacrifices their own caregivers provide to protect and provide for them as they grow.

Supermoms! would make a great pick for the budding (or reluctant) naturalist, and would be a fun read-aloud for Mother’s Day. I can see it being used in the classroom to discuss the differences between fiction and nonfiction text, and explore dialog and characterization. Its unique backmatter highlights all the “super” characteristics moms have [“super protective,” “super caring,” “super devoted”] and would be an excellent mentor for building students’ adjective vocabulary.
• Reviewed and recommended by Roxanne Troup

MOMMY TIME
Written by Monique James-Duncan
Illustrated by Ebony Glenn
(Candlewick Press; $17.99, Ages 4-8)

This is an extra special Mother’s Day for debut author, and busy stay-at-home mom, Monique James-Duncan who has brought to life the love and caring involved in working from home in Mommy Time, an enduring and timeless picture book showing the love between a mom and her two young children.

It’s not an easy job being a stay-at-home mom (trust me I was one) and they often go underappreciated. James-Duncan takes the reader through a typical day in a mother’s life from waking up her daughter, who is snuggled in bed with her sweet white cat, and getting her ready before sending her off to school time. But special Mommy time continues for her baby boy who she brings to a parent class with other devoted moms and dads.

Ebony Glenn’s endearing digital art depicts a diverse group of parents shown in soft greens, yellows, and blue tones. Her art of modern-day parents doing life, with smiles on their faces, reinforces that it’s not just the moms who stay home with their young kids. A dad with a dark beard is swinging his daughter at the playground, and another bald dad participates in the singing class.

The rhythmic prose adds a fun page-turning quality to this story as “She hurries with the cleanup time. Me? Help? It’s so exhausting time! Sweeping time, laundry time. It’s stinky diaper changing time.”

The busy day continues when sister is picked up from school and Mommy takes her for library time, playdate time, and on this particular day dentist time. I’m exhausted just reading about her day. Throughout the book, Glenn uses spot art to convey a variety of activities to move the story forward. Then she paints Mommy cuddling baby brother in her arms, while sister lays with mouth wide open in the dentist’s chair. When Daddy returns home it’s evening time and dinner time, and Mommy helps with homework time. But the kids’ favorite time is when sister tells Mommy about her day snuggled on her lap for story time. “Love in her eyes, care in her smiles. Tender, precious moments time.”

This book reminded me of all those meaningful moments spent with my kids when they were that age. This timeless story is a wonderful bedtime read for stay-at-home moms as well as for moms and dads who work outside the home. And a big shout-out to James-Duncan, who found time to write her first book when not cooking, cleaning, or grocery shopping for her children. Bravo to all the hardworking moms. • Reviewed by Ronda Einbinder

TOGETHER WITH YOU
Written by Patricia Toht
Illustrated by Jarvis
(Candlewick Press; $17.99, Ages 4-8)

I wanted to include a grandmother book on Mother’s Day to extol their importance since many are raising their grandchildren or acting as caregivers and making a huge difference in kids’ lives. What I love about Together With You is what a super job it does of getting into a little boy’s head as he describes the special time spent with his grandmother.

In this well-crafted rhyming picture book, Toht conveys the story via seasons spent together, making it feel like four lovely poems. It begins with spring as showers rain down while Grandma and Grandson “dash through the drops, side by side” as seen on the cover. Jarvis’s illustrations, though created digitally with hand lettering, have a watercolor-mixed-with-pastels look where colors blend into each other. They switch from the darker, more muted shades of spring to the golden yellows of summer. When the little boy says he’s drippy with sweat, I could feel the change in temperature. When autumn rolls in, the palette becomes more golden with burnt oranges and colors that blend beautifully on the page. The wind pushes again the grandmother and her grandchild as they fly a kite and try to keep their balance. The winter scenes of this adoring pair, whether cozy in jammies or watching snowflakes fall, will warm your heart. I recommend this touching story to share on Mother’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, or for that matter any day you want to celebrate the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild.

Children’s Picture Book Review – My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

MY GRANDPA, MY TREE, AND ME

Written by Roxanne Troup

Illustrated by Kendra Binney

(Yeehoo Press; $17.99, Ages 4-8)

There’s a timeless, feel-good quality to Roxanne Troup’s debut fiction picture book My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me, illustrated by Kendra Binney. After finishing it, I wanted to sit back and imagine myself in the bucolic surroundings where the story takes place.

Binney’s appealing artwork transported me to a pecan orchard for the first time where the action unfolds as a little girl spends time with her grandfather and narrates, “My grandpa planted a tree for me on the day I was born.” She also tells us that, despite having an orchard full of pecan trees, Grandpa’s favorite tree is that particular one, thus establishing the strong bond these two characters share.

My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me int1 girl and grandpa spreading mulch — Interior spread from My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me written by Roxanne Troup and illustrated by Kendra Binney, Yeehoo Press ©2023.

Through changing seasons starting in winter when it’s pruning time, and the annual growth cycle of the orchard, we learn how pecans mature and are harvested. At the same time, the special relationship between the child and her grandpa exudes from the warm, muted illustrations coupled with Trout’s lyrical prose. I especially felt that each time I read the lovely repeating phrase “But not my tree.” In spread after spread the young girl describes how the other pecan trees are treated en masse as part of the commercial harvesting process, while hers receives individualized care from her grandpa. Together the two tend to her tree with love and respect which also serves as a metaphor for their relationship.

My Grandpa My Tree and Me int2 prepping pecans for harvester — Interior illustrations from My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me written by Roxanne Troup and illustrated by Kendra Binney, Yeehoo Press ©2023.

At last, when the husks open, it’s harvest time. The joy is palpable on the page. Then “Grandpa attaches a padded arm to his tractor. It hugs the trees’ trunks and shakes until leaves and twigs and pecans rain down.” When it’s her turn and with Grandpa there to savor the experience, the girl uses a long pole to make the pecans drop. The orchard’s pecans will be collected by the harvester for sale but the girl’s pecans will be baked into a scrumptious pecan pie. And, not to spoil the beautiful ending, suffice it to say that Troup and Mother Nature’s miraculous cycle of growth delivers a delightful and very satisfying dénouement in this touching layered tale.

My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me int3 eating pecan pie time — Interior illustrations from My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me written by Roxanne Troup and illustrated by Kendra Binney, Yeehoo Press ©2023.

Troup, who is not a newcomer to writing, knows how to tell an engaging and tender story while infusing interesting information into it, clearly owing to her extensive nonfiction background. The pacing of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me moves forward easily like the seasons in the orchard. There’s a soothing rhythm to the language that makes the book an ideal read any time of the day, including bedtime. Did you know that pecans are considered a native nut to North America? Find an All About Pecans note detailing the history of the commercial pecan industry along with a helpful glossary in the back matter.

Download a free teacher’s guide here.