Our mother’s voice is the first thing we hear. Before we have even met the truth of this world, we know the truth of our mother’s heartbeat, of her laughter, of her indigestion. This May, we have compiled a list of books for Mother’s Day. Books that celebrate the women in our lives and the women who have come before us, made history and paved the way for all the little girls of future generations.
babies/tots
Grandma and Me
By Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Ashleigh Corrin
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2022, $7.99
Bouncy rhymes and vivid art celebrate the bond between grandmother and child in this sturdy board book. The simple, specific activities manage to be significant and universal as well. Perfect for year-round read-aloud lap or Zoom time with grandma, little ones will perk up at the opening words: “With a smile as bright as a sunny day,/my grandma likes to laugh and play.” And they’ll come to the end with but one request: Read it again.
ages 3 – 7
The Katha Chest
By Radhiah Chowdhury
Illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster, 2022, $17.99
Asiya loves going to her grandmother’s house and unpacking quilts, made of old saris, from Nanu’s katha chest. The lyrical text limns the lives of the child’s grandmother, mother and aunts, and beautiful illustrated flashbacks reveal the women in shimmering saris that readers can also see stitched into the kathas snuggled around Asiya and her extended family.
Kamala Harris
By Tonya Grant
National Geographic Kids, 2022, $4.99
Clear, engaging prose and vibrant color photographs chronicle the life of Kamala Harris, the first woman Vice President of the United States. Her mother, who had immigrated from India, and her father, from Jamaica, advocated for civil rights and took Kamala to protest marches from a young age, so she grew up interested in social justice issues – an interest that grew in her years as a lawyer, attorney general for California and now as Vice President. This biography is a lively introduction to a very important American.
ages 8 – 12
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance
By Lisa Yee
Random House, 2022, $16.99
In this compelling, warm-hearted novel, Maizy and her mother travel from Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota, to help her ailing grandfather. Their family members are the only Asian Americans in the small town, which feels strange to Maizy; and her uneasiness is further exacerbated by the constant tension between her mother and grandmother. Maizy’s mom is a food stylist and her grandparents own and run a Chinese restaurant – but a shared life around food only adds to the tension that Maizy slowly discovers stems from family secrets, a history never spoken of and local racism.
“JUST HELP!” Audiobook
By Sonia Soto
mayor
Read by Kerry Washington and Sonia Sotomayor
Random House, 2022, $17.99
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has a new listening library book, “JUST HELP!” It is a story about the meaning of community and helping your neighbors, narrated on audio by actress, producer and director Kerry Washington. Justice Sotomayor narrates the introduction herself. Inspired by her own family’s desire to help others, Justice Sotomayor has written a meaningful and heartfelt book about a small but mighty neighborhood where both kids and adults come together to create a better world for themselves and their fellow students, bus drivers, teachers and more.
Share this list of book’s for Mother’s Day with the special women in your life.
Related:
Could Your Child’s Reading Difficulty be Dyslexia?
