I Want My Mommy! by T. Corderoy

Abstract

Corderoy,Tracey. I Want My Mommy! Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales, 2013. Print.This charming picture book addresses separation anxiety, which is common among young children being left with occasional caregivers. The story is depicted with mice playing the roles of people. Arthur is a small mouse, who is staying with his grandmother while his mother goes out for the day. Arthur has "never been apart from Mommy for the whole day before". He misses her a lot. Although his grandmother distracts him with dragons, sword fights and lunch, Arthur is still sometimes sad and thinks that his mom has returned every time the doorbell rings. Allison Edgson's illustrations are bright, attractive and somewhat romantic. Grandma's garden has a white picket fence with an arched trellis, hollyhocks and climbing roses. Throughout, Arthur is dressed in a green dragon suit. The images are sometimes two-page spreads with text over-printed or smaller round pictures with in text the white spaces around them. The text is a large font, with a few words bolded or capitalized for effect. The text is age appropriate for pre-kindergarten to grade three, but intended to be read aloud by an adult.I Want My Mommy! allows children to see their own situation depicted in a story. Children can empathize with Arthur and see that he does cope with being away from his mother and that his mother does return. This is an excellent book for public libraries and elementary school libraries and pediatric health collections. Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.