Illustrator: David Walker
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile (March 17, 2011)
Audience: Ages 3 to 6 years old
Source: Copy for Review
Description from Press Kit:
Once upon a time - according to Grandma - Mommy loved getting messy, wearing kooky costumes and collecting dandelion fluff. Sometimes she was a terror, but most of the time she was a sweet potato-doll face-poopsie. Just like her own little girl today!
Kelly Bennett's Your Mommy Was Just Like You is a companion book to Your Daddy Was Just Like You. This time Grandma is talking with her young granddaughter as they flip through a photo album. She shares with her granddaughter how even from birth she looked like her mother and how they behaved in similar ways and had similar likes. When I arrived at nearly the last page, I read - "Your mommy is my baby. And no matter how big she gets, or how old she gets, she will always be my baby." - I had to laugh. I had just heard a mother say something similar to her daughter the other day. There are many lines in this book that ring true. Bennett certainly captures the familiar conversations that likely every grandparent has had with their grandchild.
Children are always curious about things about themselves like the day they were born or other special events. They will often ask a parent to tell about it over and over again. And since they often don't have a real sense that their parents were ever children, to learn about the similarities - how they fit into their family line is important to them.
This book can be included in a collection of books centered around families or as a gift from a grandparent to her grandchild. I can picture the book sparking further conversation about real-life similarities and shared giggles.
David Walker's illustrations nicely compliment Bennett's text. I enjoyed the expressions on the characters faces and chuckled at some of the ways the images were presented. The soft pastel colors bring a gentleness to the book.
