Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A little girl stays home with Mama when Mommy goes off on a work trip in this tender, inviting story that will resonate with every child who has missed a parent. For one little girl, there’s no place she’d rather be than sitting between Mama and Mommy. So when Mommy goes away on a work trip, it’s tricky to find a good place at the table. As the days go by, Mama brings her to the library, they watch movies, and all of them talk on the phone, but she still misses Mommy as deep as the ocean and as high as an astronaut up in the stars. As they pass by a beautiful garden, the girl gets an idea . . . but when Mommy finally comes home, it takes a minute to shake off the empty feeling she felt all week before leaning in for a kiss. Michael L. Printz Award winner Nina LaCour thoughtfully renders a familiar, touching story of a child who misses a parent, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, whose distinctive style brings charm and playfulness to this delightful family of three.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a book organized into the long days of a parent's absence, Monday sees its preschool-age, brown-skinned child narrator sharing a pancake breakfast with Mama and Mommy before Mommy leaves on a business trip. After Tuesday brings feelings of missing, Wednesday offers a phone call with Mommy ("My loves! she says. It's you!"). The family's longing is shown in an image of two phones close together; Mommy reaches out of one, the child reaches out of the other. Resentment lingers when the parent returns at last, but Mommy is there for it, acknowledging her child's emotions, naming them, and enfolding them in safety. LaCour gives readers a closely observed portrait of two moms who nurture their child through challenges, while Juanita lavishes attention on detail, lushly capturing facial expressions, figures, and flower petals in an unabashed celebration of familial love. Mama presents as white; Mommy, who is Black, and the child narrator have patches that hint at vitiligo. Ages 3–7.
