MOMMY IS A SOFT, WARM KISS

This rhyming celebration of mother-daughter love describes all the fun the two have together, consistently making the equation between Mommy and whatever she is doing for her daughter: “Mommy is a yummy smell of pumpkin pie, so sweet... // Mommy is a happy tune I keep inside my heart... // Mommy is a soft, warm kiss...” While the images are occasionally felicitous—when sewing a costume, “Mommy is a thread that’s dancing, bobbing up and down”—it may be more than a little flattening for moms to see themselves so baldly reduced to the gratification they offer their children. But there’s no denying the goodwill behind this effort and its companion, Daddy Is a Cozy Hug (ISBN: 978-0-8027-9728-5, May 2010), and it’s certainly an honest description of the relationship. Smith’s button-nosed, pink-cheeked characters appeal. (Picture book. 3-5)