MAMA’S DAY

Ashman rhymes in an effortless way; the pencil-and-wash pictures are in Ormerod’s rosy crystalline style; and it’s hard to have too many mama books so long as they are as good as this one. Here, each spread has a line of text: “Somewhere there’s a mama holding baby in her lap,” for example; opposite is an illustration of same. But running along the borders of the pages are a cast of babies from infant to about three. And what babies they are: Round and long, boy and girl, bald and curly, of every color and ethnicity, they will turn up in one of the bigger pictures with their mama. Every so often a dad or other relative shows up, too, but this is a mama book, as they play games, go to the store or the seashore, give baths and read stories to their babies. Delightful to read aloud and to find all the toys and a ginger kitten on each and every page. (Picture book. 3-6)