I am a huge fan of reading. I read just about everything I can get my hands on and I always have to read before going to bed or else I cannot sleep. My love of reading has trickled down to my 3 children, and with my youngest now in first grade, I have experienced the utter joy of hearing them all read to me! What a blessing it is to hear their sweet young voices use expression and intonation to entertain me!
With Mother’s Day around the corner, I have compiled a list of my most favourite Mommy-themed children’s books that I have collected for my children throughout the years. These are in no particular order but I do hope that you will have an opportunity to read them with your children – or perhaps even your own mother. They touch the hearts of children and adults alike.
1. Mama, Do You Love Me?
This book is close to my heart because I started my teaching career in the Inuit village of Kuujjuaq. The beautiful illustrations and usage of Inuktitut remind me of my time there. This story is a timeless tale of a mother’s unconditional love for her child. As any mother will tell you, there is NO LIMIT to the adoration she has for her children and this book gently, vividly, and lovingly shows us this message through the amazing illustrations of artist Barbara Lavallee.
2. Love Your Forever
This book touches on all the timelines of parenting and growing up: infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescences, and adulthood in a truly heartwarming manner – making it the perfect gift to give first time parents! And that is exactly how I came to have a copy of this book myself!
When my first daughter was born, almost 21 years ago, my good friend Sheri Lee gave us a copy of this book. It was my first introduction to the world of Robert Munsch and his amazing world of storytelling. I had no idea what the impact of this one little story would do for myself and my daughter. Having read it while still in the hospital after giving birth to my first child, I had tears streaming down my face. It is one of those stories that is so well crafted that it appeals to all genders and age groups because we all have/ had a mother or mother-figure in our lives to help guide us through the best of times and the worst of times. This book will help you celebrate the bond between mothers and their children and I was so happy to see that it became one of my daughter’s favourites. She would ask her Nanny to read it to her whenever she wanted to be rocked on the rocking chair. As she began to talk more and more, she would help to read the story by finishing the last few words of each sentence. The little song that appears in the story took on it’s own melody in our home and even today, all my children can sing it by heart.
3. Someday
Here is another touching story for all moms and their children. I have to hand it to Allison Mcghee because she takes the most precious moments of our lives, transports them into words, and along with her fabulous illustrator, Peter B. Reynolds, creates a masterpiece of a story where the hopes, dreams and love of a mother are tenderly celebrated. We all want whats best for our children and in this wonderfully crafted story, she brings all of those things to life.
4. Little Boy
Just like the book up above by the same author, Little Boy is a wonderfully simple book about the love a mother has for her son. This book is so close to my heart because my husband and I, after having 2 precious little girls, were wanting to have a little boy to round out our family. When we found out that I was expecting, and as time went on, learned that I was having a little boy, we were ecstatic! Our happiness, however, quickly became overshadowed, when it was discovered that I was having a major complication with my pregnancy. To make a long story short, this complication caused me to be on hospital bedrest for almost a month before the doctors decided he needed to be born at 31 weeks.
Any parent of a preemie will tell you that the doctors gave them the “worst possible scenario” when it comes to giving birth to a pre-term baby. My husband and I heard the “maybe’s” and “perhaps” when it came to his hearing, sight, intelligence, learning capabilities, etc… and we were ready to accept any challenge. That’s what makes this book SO special to me. This book celebrates the little moments that make my little boy so happy throughout his day – and considering his rather dramatic entry into our world, I must say that this book is a very good reminder to me to just let my little boy be himself – and at his own pace.
5. Prudent Advice: Life Lessons for My Baby Daughter (A Life List for Every Woman)
Now this book makes my list because I do have an adult daughter who has started to live her own independent life. This book has some humour, some tender moments, and some advice that is a little bit out there – but if anything, this book will inspire you to create lists of advice for your own children.
I am not affiliated with any publishing house or author and have blogged about these books simply because I love them – and I think you will, too! May they bring you as much joy and happiness and they have to me and my children!
Happy reading!
ps. For all you teacher-moms out there, if you are looking for a fantastic project to do with your students for Mother’s Day, I have you covered! Why have your students make a card when they can make an entire scrapbook for their Moms! This package has a variety of differentiated activities that are perfect for students from Kindergarten to Sixth Grade.
You can find this awesome resource by clicking right here.
Have a great day!
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