Why I Love My Mom

Readers are invited to personalize this ode to a mother by taping a photo of their own parent onto the first page (the cover has a die-cut circle for it to peek through), as well as by filling out four closing pages about themselves, their mothers, and the things they do together. However, these interactive prompts seem at odds with a story mostly about one mother’s idiosyncrasies. As the book unfolds, the narrator, a small Caucasian boy, comically outlines his mother’s strengths and failings ( “My mom can’t surf, but she can swim. My mom can’t sing, but she can whistle”), all depicted in Geddes’s gestural watercolor-and-ink cartoons. The scenarios are humorous, but it’s a thin offering, even so. Simultaneously available: Why I Love My Dad. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)