Mom's the word

On the very first page of "James and the Giant Peach," the hero's parents are eaten by a rhinoceros that escaped from the London Zoo. It's a necessary plot device for the story. No mother or father would let their son take off on a voyage in a giant peach with a bunch of huge insects.

While James' parents may be absent, in many children's books, the relationship between parent and child is foremost. And May is the perfect month to celebrate some terrific mothers in recent children's books. In June, we'll celebrate fathers.

"What Moms Can't Do" by Douglas Wood: Moms really don't like to watch movies by themselves ... And sometimes they need protection during the scary parts -- they feel much better with someone on their lap.

With his wry listing of all the things moms can't do, Wood actually shows the multitude of things moms do in the life of a young child. In the end, it all adds up to the one thing moms do better than almost anyone, and that's love you. Doug Cushman's cheerful illustrations show a dinosaur mom moving through a typical day with her young son. A companion book, "What Dads Can't Do," was published last year. (In his author jacket blurb, Wood says that was a much easier book to write.) Wood also is the author of "Old Turtle" and "Grandad's Prayers of the Earth." (Simon & Schuster, ages 3-8, 32 pgs., $14)

"Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People" by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple: A real-life mother and daughter created this innovative book in which subjects, such as messy rooms, music lessons, death and money are approached from two different perspectives.

Stemple, daughter of prolific children's writer Yolen, takes the voice of the preteen daughter, even though she's in her 30s and a mom herself, while Yolen takes the mother's voice.

They handle their parts deftly. The poems hit on issues that are common to many mothers and daughters and can provide a good springboard for discussion. Expressive black-and-white pencil drawings by Gil Ashby illustrate the poems. (Boyds Mills Press, ages 9 and up, 40 pgs., $15.95)

"The Soccer Mom From Outer Space" by Barney Saltzberg: On the night before Lena's first soccer game, her dad tells her the true story of Mrs. Drinkwater, who was a perfectly ordinary mom until she went to her son Ruben's first soccer game. (Lena's dad is named Ruben, and her grandmother is Mrs. Drinkwater, but her father insists the story is about different people.)

At the Atomic Pickles' first game, Mrs. Drinkwater acts pretty crazy, shouting "Wooooooo!" as if she were a fire siren. But at succeeding games, she gets even worse, dressing up as a giant pickle and leading cheers.

Ruben, being a normal kid, is extremely embarrassed. He finally convinces her not to dress up and cheer at the next game. To his surprise, the coach and team members are disappointed. "But she's our biggest fan," one Atomic Pickle said with a moan. "The more your mom cheers, the better the team plays," the coach said.

Soon, other parents show up dressed in pickle costumes, and Ruben gains a a new appreciation for his soccer mom from outer space. Back in the present, the story comes to a funny and satisfying conclusion when Lena's family shows up in full costume to cheer on her team, the Galactic Grapes.

Saltzburg's humorous illustrations are perfect for this kid- pleasing tale. (Crown, ages 5-10, 40 pgs., $15.95)

"Four Hungry Kittens" by Emily Arnold McCully: This wordless picture book by Caldecott Medal winner McCully ("Mirette on the High Wire") is simply charming. When mom cat is away, the kittens will play. Mom is a big orange tabby cat caring for her four tiny kittens in a barn. When she leaves to hunt for a meal, the kittens promptly begin getting into mischief. The farmer and his dog come in, and luckily the dog begins watching the kittens. He alerts the farmer when two kittens fall into a milk can. He scares off a hawk who threatens the kittens when they wander outside. And he lets the farmer know that the mother cat accidentally has been locked in a storeroom. The dog even offers the kittens one of his bones, a gift they don't seem to know what to do with.

The last picture shows the dog, cat and kittens all snuggled together after the kittens have eaten their meal of mouse. (Dial, ages 3 and up, 32 pgs., $15.99)

"Mama, Across the Sea" by Alex Godard; adapted from the French by George Wen: Cecile lives with her grandparents on a Carribean island while her mother works on the mainland. Godard's beautiful, soft paintings depict Cecile as she wanders on the beach, watches her grandfather repair fishing nets, helps her grandmother wallpaper the house with catalogs and makes pictures with shells. All the while, she fights the loneliness of being without her mother. The sadness becomes nearly unbearable when her mother writes that she can't get any days off from her new job, so a planned visit is canceled.

But in the end, Cecile's mother arranges for the child to come visit her. Children who have to be away from a loved one will relate to this story. (Henry Holt, ages 5 and up, 48 pgs., $16.95)

"The Memory String" by Eve Bunting: This is a story about a mother and a stepmother. Laura feels close to her mother, who died three years ago, when she's holding a memory string of buttons and telling the story of each button to her cat. She does not feel close to her new stepmother, and she makes a point of telling the memory string stories loud enough for her stepmother, Jane, to hear - an indirect way of telling Jane she is an outsider. When the memory string breaks, Laura is distraught. Her father and Jane help find all but one button, but Laura cannot be consoled.

Jane stays up late and finds the missing button, slipping it onto the porch where Laura won't have to know who found it. But Laura realizes that Jane cares about her and asks her to help restring the buttons. Washington resident Ted Rand illustrated this sensitive story. Houghton Mifflin, ages 5 and up, 40 pgs., $15)

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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