When Mama Comes Home Tonight

Mother returns from her job to spend an evening of play and bath time with a sleepy, grateful toddler in this comforting picture book. Spinelli's (Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch) brief, rhythmic sentences immediately establish the mood: "When Mama comes home from work, dear child,/ when Mama comes home tonight,/ she'll cover you with kisses,/ she'll hug you sweet and tight." Inspired by the work of Mary Cassatt, Dyer (Time for Bed) composes scenes of quiet domestic harmony, centering on a plump, porcelain-skinned mother in a long flowered dress and her copper-tressed son or daughter in overalls. Text and art depict Mama as an embracing, nurturing and very feminine presence. She plays pat-a-cake with Baby, counts the cars on the small-town street, mends Baby's pajamas and "her own pink satin slip," and fixes herself a cup of tea. The setting is carefully timeless: the clapboard house and playthings old-fashioned, the clothing and furniture as appropriate a few generations ago as today. Spot illustrations lovingly highlight various objects—bowl of soup and cup of applesauce, Baby's sandals, rubber duck, brush, teddy bear—for young readers to recognize and practice naming (in one inventive touch, for "lullabies," musical notes play "Rock-a-Bye Baby" on a star-filled staff set against the sky). The book works marvelously as a soporific, and will reassure anxiously waiting children as well as the parents who dash home to put them to bed. Ages 6 mos.-5 yrs. (Sept.)

Copyright 1998 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Mama comes home from work to her loving child ready for the night's routine of dinner and play, cleaning and mending, bath, book, and bed. It's an ideal environment: no stress, no crying, with mother and child in perfect harmony. While this idyllic scene might strike adults as unrealistic, for children, the ultimate response will be positive. The rhyming text is nicely paced, soothing without being humdrum or coy. The thrice repeated refrain, "When Mama comes home from work, dear child,/when Mama comes home tonight," sets the upbeat tone while establishing a tidy framework for the tale. The paintings appear either as full-page spreads where intricate patterns abound, or as circular vignettes that are focused on one aspect of the story. Created with colored pencils and watercolors, the illustrations are lovely and youngsters will fall into their soft dreamy glow. The child's rosy cheeks and red curly hair are a mirror of Mama's. There is a sweetness to this book, an inner strength that defies reality. It could become a necessary oasis in an otherwise hectic, domestic schedule, making reading it to a child before bedtime pure pleasure.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

Copyright 1998 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.