MAMA WILL BE HOME SOON

Lili’s mother is going away on a trip and Lili cannot help but miss her and yearn for her return. Walking Mama to the ferry landing, Lili asks her how she will find her. “You’ll see my yellow hat,” Mama assures her. Seeing her off, Lili watches as Mama’s hat fades into the distance and then she clutches her Grandma’s hand for the walk home. Over the next two days, Lili sees Mama’s hat nearly everywhere she goes. Unfortunately, when she goes in for a closer view, she finds that the spots of yellow that she thought were her mother’s hat are instead a circus balloon, a yellow sundress, a bright beach umbrella, and a sunflower. Despairing that Mama will ever return, Lili walks with her grandmother to meet the ferry. Yellow is everywhere; yellow hats, yellow pants, yellow sunglasses, and even a yellow duck—but no yellow hat. Finally, Lili spots a yellow hat in the crowd disembarking from the ferry and it’s Mama. With a gift of a yellow hat for her very own, Mama clasps Lili tight against her, promising that she will always return. Soft washes of watercolors in muted tones set the perfect backdrop for the brightly colored story of the bond between a mother and daughter. A sunny tale. (Picture book. 2-5)