Monday, April 26, 2010

My Working Mom

Author: Peter Glassman
Illustrated by Tedd Arnold
Morrow Junior Books
Age: 3-6 years

I love going to school. I love studying. I love writing my research papers. But I know that my second child is not kicked about it. She views my school and school related work as her competitor. She is young and I do not want to be away from her for long, but I feel that she has to learn that I am passionate about my work and school and respect it. I am sure we will both get there, but in the mean time we read books about working mothers. This particular book, I thought, conveyed the message without being too preachy.

The story is from a little girl's perspective. Her mom is a witch. The little girl starts the story with, 'It isn't easy having a working mom. Especially when she enjoys her work.' The little girl goes on to describe how her mom is always 'flying off' to meetings, how her mom has a 'blast' at work, how focused her mom can get when something important is 'brewing' at work and how she gets yelled at by her mom when she plays with her mom's work( in this case it is a giant frog and a cauldron of magic portion). But the little girl also acknowledges that her mom throws the greatest birthday parties, bakes 'out-of-the-world' cakes, is always present for all her school plays and games. She ends the book saying that she does not always like having a working mom, but she can't picture her mom any other way.

I loved the subtle sense of humor and the word play. I also loved the way that the mother in this book is doing her work without guilt. At home or at work, all mothers can do without the nagging guilt.

12 comments:

  1. UmaMonday, April 26, 2010 8:49:00 AM

    The mom as the witch is so interesting and I think that's what makes it non preachy and fun... Isn't it? I might need this sooner or later...

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  2. VibhaMonday, April 26, 2010 9:00:00 AM

    I liked the message given thro' the book 'doing work without guilt'. Guilt derails the focus completely.

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  3. starry eyedMonday, April 26, 2010 10:26:00 AM

    An intriguing title and sounds like such a fun way of talking about this BIG issue.

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  4. sandhyaMonday, April 26, 2010 10:03:00 PM

    Certainly in my wishlist. I'm not a 'working mom' in the conventional sense, but show me one mom who does not work. As my 8yr-old daughter once asked me,'Mama, Papa goes to office, I go to school. What do you do sitting at home all day?' I decided then not to 'finish-my-work-off-when-she-is-not-there-so-that-I-can-give-her-time' and did housework with her help on a day she had a holiday but not my husband. So now she knows all the work that goes into running the house.
    A good gift for any mom. Will look out for this. Thanks, UTBT!

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  5. utbtkidsTuesday, April 27, 2010 4:27:00 AM

    Uma, Starry: I liked the word play. Like mom has a blast at work, she is always flying to her meetings :) Can be done only by a witch mom.

    Vibha: Exactly.

    Sandhya: Exactly. This is what I replied on my blog: "If you are in love with something and if your are passionate about it, you cannot not work. Working is not necessarily working at an office and getting paid."

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  6. SheelaTuesday, April 27, 2010 9:24:00 AM

    Nice one, utbt... "why do grown-ups like to work all the time?" is my daughter's constant question for which none of my answers so far seem satisfactory :)

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  7. sathishWednesday, April 28, 2010 10:40:00 AM

    "The little girl goes on to describe how her mom is always 'flying off' to meetings, how her mom has a 'blast' at work, how focused her mom can get when something important is 'brewing' at work"

    That is some clever play of words there. :)

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  8. utbtkidsMonday, May 03, 2010 6:46:00 AM

    Sheela: I can totally understand your daughter's question :)

    Satish: Do check it out if the book is available in your neck of the woods.

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  9. Praba RamTuesday, May 04, 2010 12:06:00 PM

    Sounds like fun. Mom as the witch...:) I think it would be equally fun to see another version of the same story, ahem..a witch working at home and changing hats every hour or so depending on the task on hand...and if she were me, proudly calling herself the CEO of domestic operations at the drop of a hat. :)

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  10. onestoryadaySunday, January 01, 2012 4:12:00 AM

    I would love to read this to my five year old...can you please tell me where to find such wonderful books in a place like Blore. I have tried Hippocampus and Just books....but wasnt so lucky to find this one!

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  11. sandhyaSunday, January 01, 2012 7:07:00 AM

    Flipkart for sure! It is a bit expensive, though! Alternatively you can order at the Strand book stall. They often source books not easily available in India.

    http://www.flipkart.com/books/0064410331?_l=gWxQa0snNjHUHKJhnj_y0w--&_r=bi0cjfBQZk28oOQij2VhuQ--&ref=8708fb1c-89b4-4e38-8476-e76cb6fd8fe7

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  12. divyaTuesday, January 03, 2012 12:59:00 AM

    Thanks a lot ...this book in particular is out of stock but a great source for books. I will try the Strand Book stall

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