This year, forget the flowers! Celebrate Mom with a story instead. Filled with humor, poetry and plenty of love, these fresh picture books pay tribute to mothers and their special magic.

PREPARING FOR MOTHERHOOD
Laura Krauss Melmed delivers a beautiful salute to the bond that exists between mother and child in Before We Met. Jing Jing Tsong’s breathtaking digital collage illustrations feature an evocative palette of violets, purples and blues—the deep hues of a night sky—to create a magical backdrop for a mother’s musings. The phrase “before we met” serves as a refrain in the book’s rhymed lines, turning the text into a lullaby: “Before we met, I dreamt I felt the beating of your heart. Before we met, I promised you I’d love you from the start,” the mother tells her newborn. Soon night gives way to day and a sun-drenched gardenscape filled with flitting birds and blooming flowers. This celebratory scene, signifying birth, is the perfect endnote for Melmed’s gorgeous, impressionistic story-poem. 

MOM ON A MISSION
Emma Levey’s delightful Hattie Peck features a one-of-a-kind mom—a broody chicken who longs for a family all her own. The only egg Hattie ever laid failed to hatch! She dreams of having eggs—lots and lots of them—and so she sets out on a quest. Her goal: round up all the abandoned eggs she can find and hatch them, “every last one!” Beginning this madcap mission in a rowboat, Hattie plumbs oceans, braves caves and climbs mountains, collecting a “colossal clutch” along the way. Back at home, she sits atop a pile of eggs and waits for the cracking to commence. Soon Hattie has hatched a veritable zoo that includes alligators, snakes, a penguin and a peacock. With so many critters to care for, Hattie is happy at last. Featuring colors that pop, Levey’s bold illustrations make this an extra-special story for families of every breed.

TWO OF A KIND
You Made Me a Mother captures the sense of nervous anticipation that precedes a baby’s arrival. Laurenne Sala’s buoyant story follows an excited mom-to-be as she prepares for her big day, studying baby guides and puzzling over new furniture for the nursery. When the tot finally arrives, the young mom naturally adjusts to her new role, making lovely discoveries about herself along the way: “I realized that I would spend my life doing things to make you happy. And that would make me happy,” she tells her little one. Over time, through trips to the playground and walks in the rain, mother and child learn from each other and grow together. Robin Preiss Glasser’s detailed ink-and-watercolor drawings are just right for this moving tribute to a mother’s unique capacity for love.

This article was originally published in the May 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.