My Mum Goes to Work

What a reassuring book, for the small child whose Mother goes out to work! The illustrator, David Milgrim, has a style of ‘less is more’, somewhat reminiscent of Peanuts. We see the little boy telling his dog that he knows his Mum still cares about him and thinks about him, throughout her working day. We see her at a desk, smiling as she looks at a photo of her son. Back at home, the boy shares all the things that he and his Mother enjoy doing together, with his devoted dog. They bike-ride, paint, and play on the swing. (Guess who pushes!) How does he know his Mother just loves doing all these things with him? Because when she gets home from work, they do play wonderful games, they bike-ride, paint and swing, until… and then, a lovely punchline! The pictures have appeal in their simplicity. There is space on the page, so the message behind each spread’s limited text becomes very clear.