Children's Picture Books

A Mother's Song

By: Janet Lawler
Illustrated by: Kathleen Kemly
Publisher: Sterling
Publication Date: April 2010
ISBN: 978-1402769689
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: February 2010

A mother swings out the gate of the picket fence and gently turns to hold out her hand to her little girl. The little girl’s face is all scrunched up with joy as she clutches her little pup to her chest. After they pass through the gate they kneel on the pathway to examine the pebbles on the pathway as the pup tries to play with a squirrel looking at him through a garden fence. Wild ajuga and dandelions grace the pathway, a pathway where adventure and discovery lie. There is a puddle to jump in and bring out their smiles. It’s time to listen and look at the robin as she tends her young.

Let’s wade in a puddle
that’s not very deep
pretending we’re frogs.
Croaking loud as we leap.

The mother and daughter stop to close their eyes and smell the flowers as butterflies flit around them. When the rain comes it is time to laugh, sit on the porch and stick those toes out to catch the drops coming down from the roof. Soon the warm weather is turning to the crisp chill of the fall and it is time to play in the leaves and pick apples. The apples we harvest / together taste best / and yours crunches louder / than all the rest. / Soon it will be time for the snow to fly!

All year round there are many glorious times that a mother and daughter can share together and this book perfectly captures those moments. The love seeps gently through the verse and softly pulls the reader through the pages. I loved the slightly nostalgic artwork that seems to catch these special moments. It was as if someone were taking snapshots of a mother and daughter sharing the seasons together.

Quill says: This book would be a gift of love that could be shared between mother and daughter as they explore these pages in one of their special moments!