Because Your Mommy Loves You

K-Gr 1—In this companion to Because Your Daddy Loves You (Clarion, 2005), a mother and her young son shop for and then go on a camping trip. Each situation has the same format and words: "When you…," "Your mommy could say…But she doesn't." ("When you have to cross the stream, and the log looks skinny and wobbly,/your mommy could say,…I'll take you across. But she doesn't.") Then the text explains what the mother does do. While Daddy shows a father performing tasks for his daughter, this title reveals a mother explaining or modeling how something should be done and then watching her child perform the task by himself. Both titles end with the same loving hug and an "I love you." The ink, watercolor, and acrylic illustrations vary in size from small vignettes to full-page scenes and show the loving relationship between the mother and her child. The repetition in the text is engaging, and children will enjoy this tale of an adventurous day hiking and an overnight in a tent.—Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI