Mom School

March 23, 2015
Mothers know so much, they must go to “Mom School” to acquire their skills, a girl reasons. In imagined scenarios, she envisions her mother and other moms acquiring such talents as baiting fishing hooks, pumping up bike tires, and “making dinner while listening to a song I just made up.” Burris’s digitally colored pencil illustrations have a pleasing rough-hewn look, and she has a great deal of fun picturing mothers in the midst of kidlike school-day activities; in
an early scene, backpack-wearing mothers arrive at school sipping coffees, checking their smartphones, and waving goodbye to their children. Gently funny and knowing, it’s
a good bet for moments of mother-child bonding, especially for moms who could use a pat on the back. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agency: CATugeau.

April 1, 2015
An imaginative, ponytailed girl compares what she learns at school to what she believes her mother learned at Mom School. "When I go to school, I learn how to cut and glue paper, count to 100, and sing silly songs. My mom says she went to school, too." So begins this title, in which the young narrator shares what she thinks happens at a school for mothers. The page turn reveals a group of ethnically diverse, backpack-toting women, many with coffee mugs, heading into a multistory brick school. There, the students learn how to juggle various tasks, such as shopping for groceries while not losing sight of the kids, talking on the phone while fixing a daughter's hair, and making dinner while listening to a child's new song. Other lessons include how to properly tuck a child into bed, read stories, bait a fishhook, and pump a bicycle tire; all are betrayed with gentle comic effect in Burris' digitally painted illustrations. Readers will be pleased to recognize such activities as building a fort out of couch cushions and decorating cupcakes, but these kidcentric lessons follow a pretty drawn-out exploration of a single joke. The conclusion replicates that found in many other books: "she says her favorite job, her best job, her most important job is...being my mom." Stories glorifying mothers abound; this well-intentioned but rather bland one does not distinguish itself. (Picture book. 4-7)

April 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-A tribute to all of the things a mom can do. The unnamed girl imagines that her mother has attended "Mom School," where she learned how to do a multitude of tasks around the house, how to play, and of course the uncanny ability to do several things at once. There is humor in the idea that these skills were acquired in an institutional setting, and Burris's funny illustrations rendered in soft pastel hues capture this silly but charming concept. The story is appropriately child-centric, though at the end Van Slyke cleverly works in the fact that the mom is not just a superstar at home but also has a career. Predictably, she declares that her best job is being a mom. VERDICT An appealing addition to read at Mother's Day and throughout the year.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

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