Description
About the Author Jeanette Bradley wrote and illustrated her first picture book at age five. Called Leopold, it featured a leopard who ate too many watermelons and developed pink spots. Later in life, Jeanette studied painting at Indiana University and Children’s Book Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Along the way she also acquired a degree in urban planning. Jeanette’s exuberant illustrations have won multiple awards, including the R. Michelson Gallery Emerging Artist Award. She currently lives in Rhode Island. Jeanette is the author-illustrator of Love, Mama. Product Description With a heartwarming story and tender illustrations, Jeanette Bradley's debut picture book Love, Mama is perfect for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and any day when a child needs a reminder of the strength of a mother's love.When Mama leaves her young penguin Kipling, he knows she'll return home soon―yet he still can't help but miss her. After all, Pillow Mama won't read, Picture Mama won't laugh, and Snow Mama is too cold to cuddle.But then Kipling receives a special delivery from Mama, including a note that reads:My love for you stretches across the wide ocean, through day and night, from earth to sky and back again.And Kipling knows that no matter where Mama is, he is loved. Soon, Mama comes home, and Kipling ends the day where he belongs―right in her arms. From School Library Journal PreS-K—A penguin hatchling named Kipling discovers that when his mama takes a trip, waiting for her return isn't easy. He tries his best to pretend with a pillow, a picture, and a mama made of snow, but nothing feels right. When a "sad, soggy box" arrives on his doorstep, he's disappointed until he discovers that Mama has sent him a special care package to make his waiting easier. Inside is a paper heart that reminds him of how far her love reaches. Kipling returns the gesture and gleefully greets her when she finally returns carrying his package with her. The soft blues and grays of Bradley's frosty landscapes match the emotional tone of a young child missing his mother. The ambiguous nature of her trip gives this wide appeal for very young children with an absent, deployed, or traveling parent. The text is simple enough for young readers but the authentic and tender emotions shared between a separated mother and child are universally powerful. VERDICT A poignant and high-quality picture book for special collections dealing with separation anxiety and a must for public and school libraries.—Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH Review “Wide appeal for very young children with an absent, deployed, or traveling parent . . . but the authentic and tender emotions shared between a separated mother and child are universally powerful. A poignant and high-quality picture book [about] dealing with separation anxiety.” ―School Library Journal“Bradley’s soft paintings and understated narration create a rich maritime world―and the comforting assurance of enduring love―that should readily resonate with the children of working parents, even if their Mamas don’t head off to work on an ice floe, as Kipling’s mother does.” ―Publishers Weekly“The artwork works with the spare text to keep the focus on how Kipling is feeling; readers are sure to empathize. This will provide both reassurance to children missing their own loved ones and ideas for staying connected.” ―Kirkus Reviews“This is a gentle story for the tiny about the difficulty of dealing with even a short, benign absence of a loved one, and it’s particularly sympathetic in its understanding of the way absence bites deeper as the day goes on . . . The internet may have made the world smaller, but this book will help console kids who know that FaceTime just isn’t the same.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books