YOUR MOMMY WAS JUST LIKE YOU

This slight story opens with a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughter gathered around a family photo album, in a book that replicates the formula used in Your Daddy Was Just Like You (2010). The grandmother begins to remember all the ways her daughter and granddaughter are alike: “Your mommy was born bright-eyed and fuzzy-topped. Just like you.” Bennett’s comforting refrain, along with the measured text, creates a soothing rhythm that pairs nicely with Walker’s muted acrylics. Certain vignettes wonderfully capture less-endearing moments of childhood, such as when the grandmother remembers her daughter’s tantrums, when she “pestered and poked, stomped and spit… / On those days she was sent to TIME OUT.” However, the nostalgic tone is occasionally burdened by overly cute language: “Most days your mommy was my sweet potato—doll face—poopsie…” As in the companion title for fathers, Walker misses the opportunity to draw a visual connection between the little girl and her mother, who grandmother says was so much like her—a shame. Even though most young children enjoy hearing what their parents were like when they were little, there is not much here to excite the preschool set. (Picture book. 3-5)