Picture Books for Mothers Day

It’s Mothering Sunday in the UK this coming weekend, and whilst we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day in Germany until May, I’ve decided to pull forward the post I had planned in May and share some book recommendations for Mothering Sunday/ Mother’s Day in this week’s edition of Friday 5. That way you can benefit from the book recommendations whichever country you live in – and, of course, as well all know: every day is Mother’s Day, isn’t it? Lol. So, clockwise starting from the left…

• Little Jumbo, Mama Elephant, by Yasushi Muraki – This is one of the first board books I ever bought for my elder son when we moved to Berlin, and was a favourite with our younger son too. We have the German edition, but it’s also available in English. The story shows the relationship between Jumbo and his mum, who always protects him and looks out for him, no matter what. The simple illustrations are beautiful.
• Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson – Another board book for the little ones, Owl Babies tells the story story of Percy, Bill and Sarah, three owl babies who wake one night to find their mother gone. While they sit there waiting in the darkness, they worry about the scary noises, what their mum is doing, and whether she will come back. Spoiler alert: of course she does!
• Monkey Puzzle, by Julia Donaldson – A modern classic from popular children’s author Julia Donaldson, Monkey Puzzle tells another story of a little one separated from his mother. This time, it’s a little monkey who has lost his mummy and tries to find her with the well-meaning help of a butterfly, who leads him to all kinds of unsuitable animals. There’s a clever twist at the end, which shed some light on the butterfly’s confusion. And all’s well that ends well.
• Llama, llama, red pajama, by Anna Dewdney – In this story, one of several in the Llama llama series, little Llama’s mummy isn’t gone. She’s downstairs doing some household chores. But little Llama feels alone without his Mama, and works himself in to a frenzy, calling out for her and causing a fuss. Will Little Llama ever go to sleep? And will Mama ever get the dishes done?
• Eat Your Peas, by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt – This brilliantly funny book sees Daisy and her mum go head to head at dinner time. Daisy doesn’t want to eat her peas and Mum tries to bribe her with all kinds of ridiculous promises (I’m sure many parents will be able to relate to the situation!), but Daisy stands her ground. And there’s an unexpected twist at the end, that no doubt will give your kids some sweet satisfaction.

Do you have any favourite children’s books about mothers? Please feel free to share them in the comments below.

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Please note that all the book links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you buy any books via these links, I receive a small percentage – at no extra cost to you! – which helps to keep this blog running.