My day with mom

K-Gr 1--Early reader titles have the important job of helping children move from enjoying picture books to becoming independent readers. Good ones are engaging and appropriate for the specified reading level. This book features a mixed-race family and is chock-full of colorful illustrations that draw readers in to the daily activities and experiences of parent and child. The child and parent visit the park, an art fair, the farmer's market, and then head home where they cook dinner together. As they travel through their diverse community, the child and parent are surrounded by their neighbors out enjoying a lovely day. There is much to look at, study, and enjoy in every spread. The text, however, is a bit baffling at times. There are many two-word sentences that sometimes make the book feel simplistic for the intended audience. With the text accurately detailing what is being shown in the illustrations and its simple sentence structure, this might make a good choice for ESL students. VERDICT The illustrations tell a much richer story than the text. Not a necessary purchase.--Cassie Veselovsky

A day out at the farmers market. In this companion title to My Day With Dad (2023), this time the smiley youngster spends the day with Mom, shopping and playing outdoors. On a meandering, relaxed walk to the farmers market, the pair come across a park, an art fair, and a jazz band. The joy of swinging and sliding, plus the excitement of face painting, is tempered with frustration when Mom says no to a sweet treat at the market. But there's soup waiting to be made at home! The art, which is occasionally presented in panels, breaks the action into manageable bites, and the simple text with varying sentence structures will help new readers become more confident. If kids aren't familiar with the previous work, they may not realize that this is a two-household family, since there aren't quite as many context clues. Dad does appear at dinnertime (which makes for a lovely portrayal of a friendly divorce), but some readers may conclude that he's simply coming home from work, even with the line "All are welcome!" as he steps through the door. Ultimately, though, this is a delightful look at a family navigating two homes. Mom is brown-skinned, Dad is light-skinned, and the child is tan-skinned. A routine outing can be so much more when shared with a loved one. (Early reader. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.