Mother’s Day is coming up on Sunday, May 12 and if you’re looking for some special books to share with loved ones, I have ten great ones today.
Baby Goes to Market by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank (2017). As Mama and Baby go through the market together, shopkeepers can’t help but slip Baby treats, which Mama doesn’t notice until her basket starts to get very heavy. This is a sweet, funny story with cute, colorful illustrations.
Bedtime for Mommy by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (2010). This silly story flips the bedtime narrative on its head as Mommy begs her little girl for five more minutes and daughter has to put her foot down and get Mommy to bed.
The Mommy Book / The Grandma Book by Todd Parr (2002 and 2006 respectively). I am a huge fan of Todd Parr’s colorful art and silly, impactful stories. Both of these books show lots of different ways that moms and grandmas show love to the kids in their lives.
Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Bigelow-Thompson, illustrated by Ebony Glen (2018). This sweet book features a young Muslim girl playing dress-up with her mom’s headscarves in all colors of the rainbow.
Soup Day by Melissa Iwai (2010). On a cold day, a mother and daughter go to the grocery and buy all the ingredients to make vegetable soup together. This is a great story to celebrate the everyday moments of kids doing something with their mothers.
A Tale of Two Mommies by Vanita Oelschlager, illustrated by Mike Blanc (2011). In this story, a young boy at the beach meets a couple other kids and answers questions about his two mommies. I love the colorful illustrations and the matter of fact, reassuring presentation of a boy being raised by a same-sex couple.
Don’t forget grandmas! Since my brother’s daughters were born it’s been a pleasure for me to find books that my mom can enjoy with her grandkids.
Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton (Knopf, 2018). If my niece loves anything about when grandma comes to visit, it’s that grandma will let her go through her purse. I will never forget the day that 2-year-old S asked if she could put grandma’s credit card in her piggy bank. If you have a similarly-minded grandchild, this may be the perfect book for you.
Grandma’s Tiny House by Janay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Priscilla Burris (Charlesbridge, 2017). Grandma may have a tiny house, but that’s not going to stop her from inviting the whole family (and I do mean the WHOLE family) over to share a special meal together. This is a book we love to use around Thanksgiving time, even though it is not a specified Thanksgiving story, because the theme of getting the family together for a meal works wonderfully for that time of year, too.
I Really Want to See You Grandma by Taro Gomi (Chronicle, 2018). In this story, grandchild and grandma get the same idea at the same time – it’s time for a visit. But since they’re both traveling to meet the other, they end up missing each other! Will they ever actually meet? This is a sweet, funny story to share and reinforce the idea that grandma is always up for a visit.
What other books featuring moms or grandmas do you love to break out this time of year?
— Abby Johnson, Collection Development Leader
