Oh, the Things My Mom Will Do

April 1, 2013
Richmond demonstrates motherly devotion through a series of episodic examples. When a disorganized boy announces that he needs a frog costume—“with the show one day away!”—his frazzled mom spends all night working on it (“She’s still sewing when I wake up/ To finish what I need”). Another mother drops everything to track down her child’s lost teddy bear (“Mom forgets about our shopping and turns the car around/ We re-visit seven places until lost Bear is found”). From forgotten lunches to sick hamsters and scary thunderstorms, Richmond’s smudgy watercolors offer a catalog of relatable mother-and-child moments. Ages 4–up.

April 1, 2013
It is said that mothers will do anything for their children. In this humorous slip of a tale, readers see just how far moms often go. Richmond writes at a rollicking pace with rhyming couplets that describe each silly situation this diverse cast of mothers experiences. First is a barefoot, nightgown-clad mom running after the school bus to deliver a lunchbox. Next comes a move worthy of a star running back as another mother scoops up her green-faced child and carries her off to the bathroom right before she really gets sick. From staying up all night to sewing a frog costume to retracing steps at seven places to find a lost bear, the refrain reminds "Oh, the things my mom will do...because she loves me through and through." While the text moves smoothly from one hilarious but all-too-believable scenario to the next, it is the illustrations that truly impress. Apparently executed with watercolor and ink, the pictures have a childlike quality that ensures this has appeal for young readers and not just their parents. With pinprick eyes and u-shaped mouths, these mothers make the impossible happen...even if that means risking embarrassment, facing a fear or losing sleep. Eschewing the usual saccharine odes to motherhood, this title should lead to laughter and some recognition for all the crazy things moms do out of love. (Picture book. 4-6)

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April 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-Mothers' struggles with everyday routines and important moments with their children are underlined somewhat conventionally. "She said her work would end in time/'I Promise, ' she made clear/I start to cry as lunch begins when... yippee-here she comes/I don't see the speeding ticket she's hiding as she runs!" Sewing a costume on short notice for a school play, caring for an ill pet hamster, revisiting several locations in order to find a lost toy bear all show love and support. Working parents will appreciate the scene in which a mother and child both travel to a park without a cell phone or computer to interrupt their time together. The rhyming passages fill each spread in whimsical sweeps of text. The repetitive verse, "Oh, the things my mom will do... because she loves me through and through," will surely warm the hearts of both readers and listeners. Childlike watercolor and ink illustrations bestow a heartfelt awareness on what it really means to be a mother. Best for one-on-one sharing.-Krista Welz, The North Bergen Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
A mom hunts everywhere for her kid's stuffed animal; another mom stays up all hours feeding her kid's sick hamster. Each selfless act inspires her child's refrain, "Oh, the things my mom will do... / because she loves me through and through." The rhymes hobble and the illustrations quaver, but the sentimental book should offer reassurance--to gratitude-starved moms.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)