I Love Mom

by Joanna Walsh, Judi Abbot (Illustrator)

Overview

Show Mom how much you care with this delightful display of parent appreciation from the creators of The Perfect Hug and The Biggest Kiss, which School Library Journal called “a wonderful cuddle-up-and-read choice.”

Some smiles are sun smiles
run for miles smiles

but no one’s smile is wider, brighter,
than my mom’s smile.

This charming picture book is a celebration of moms everywhere!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481428088
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	12/16/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joanna Walsh has written and illustrated several books for children, including The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug, both illustrated by Judi Abbot.

Judi Abbot studied illustration in Milan, Italy. She is the author and illustrator of Mouse’s Christmas Wish. She is also the illustrator of several books for children, including The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug, both written by Joanna Walsh.

Editorial Reviews

10/13/2014
In Walsh and Abbot’s third collaboration about concrete and intangible expressions of love, following The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug, tiger siblings sing the praises of their active, resourceful—and attractive—mother: “When we go out/ she slips her hand in mine./ No other mother looks so fine./ No one strolling up the street/ so neat, so pretty./ And at the park nobody/ swings my swing so high./ No one brings the sky/ closer to the seesaw.” Abbot paints her toylike tigers in vibrant orange, shaped and shaded with soft pencil lines. The world the characters inhabit is one of easy solutions (“But who’d have guessed/ a mess could be/ so quick to pick up”), even tempers, and one-note rah-rah praise, but the overall mood of soothing security and familial bliss makes this a fine pick for gift-giving on Mother’s Day, as much as on Valentine’s Day. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-09-14
A mother tiger and her two cubs show their love for each other in this slim tale. This slightly oversized title features an adorable feline trio cuddling under pink foil hearts on the cover. Within, one of the cubs sings a paean to Mom. She plays the best games, bakes the best goodies—even evidently does the best laundry ("No jammies are so warm or so snuggly"). How right it is to appreciate imaginative craft ideas, baking skill and expert mediation between tussling siblings, but this mother is omnipresent. The bright illustrations exude child appeal, but they fail to make up for the often oddly worded text: "Some games are fun games but not like Mom's games," or "No one brings the sky closer to the seesaw." Another misstep is in the depiction throughout of two little tigers but the dominant use of a singular pronoun; the first textual reference to a sibling is an abrupt transition to Mom-as-peacemaker: "But if we fight…." The intention of the whole is clearly to celebrate the mother-child bond, but it's too bad it is not greater than its parts. Walsh and Abbot have collaborated before—with The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug (2011, 2012)—with more impressive results. Books about moms and their appreciative children abound. Pass on this lackluster offering. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews