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  • Tags: working mother
Away
Sher, Emil
Even though they do not get to spend a lot of time together, a mom and her daughter write to communicate with each other using sticky notes left around their house. Right now, the girl does not want to go to sleepaway camp and she is trying to find every reason not to go. Whether it’s her cat, Lester, needing her too much or her short haircut, she really does not want to go camping. In the end, she finally does, and she loves it!

Kevin and his dad
Smalls, Irene
Kevin loves spending time with his dad. Kevin learns that after he works hard, he can play hard with is dad. Kevin and his dad spend the day cleaning the house, then they play sports and go to the movies. Oh what fun!

Madoulina: A girl who wanted to go to school: A story from south africa
Bognomo, Joel Eboueme
Madoulina has dreams of becoming a doctor. She doesn't, however, go to school because her mother needs her to sell fritters in the marketplace to earn money. Madoulina meets her brother's new teacher, who convinces her mom to find a way to let her go to school.

Ma dear's aprons
McKissack, Patricia C.
David Earl knows what day of the week it is by the color of Ma Dear's aprons. She wears a different apron each day to reflect the day's chores. Ma Dear is a single, hard-working mother from the South that creates a loving home for her son.

I speak English for my mom
Stanek, Muriel
Lupe lives with her mother who cannot speak English. Lupe helps her mother by translating what people are saying. Lupe's mother fears she may lose her job. She decides to try to learn English so she can get a better job.

Breakout at the bug lab
Horowitz, Ruth
Two brothers have a favorite pet cockroach, Max, which lives at the bug lab where their mother works. While at a dedication ceremony for the renaming of the lab, the boys accidentally let Max escape. Now they must find him before he ruins the ceremony by scaring all the people. The boys eventually locate Max but they can't get him off the ceiling. With the help of One-Shot Lil, Max is returned to his cage.

Sunshine
Ormerod, Jan
A little girl wakes up very early then wakes her father so they can make breakfast. Afterwards, her dad gets back into bed and reads the paper while the mother sleeps. The little girl then begins to get herself ready for school.

Faraway drums
Kroll, Virginia
Jamila has the important responsibility of watching her little sister when their mom goes to work. While trying to ignore unfamiliar creepy sounds, Jamila comforts her sister and herself by recalling their grandmother's stories about their native homeland, Africa.

My mama sings
Peterson, Jeanne Whitehouse
A mother sings songs to her little boy just like her mama used to sing to her. One day when the mother comes home from a bad day at work, the little boy makes up a song about his mother. This makes his mother very happy.

Days with daddy
Watson, Pauline
Daddy has decided to go back to school, so mommy is going to go tho work. Vickie, the youngest child in the family, shares her view of her dad as the head of the household.

Five minutes peace
Murphy, Jill
Mrs. Large wants five minutes all to herself. She tries to take a bath only to have all three children intrude. She then goes downstairs for some peace and quiet, only to have the kids join her there as well.

Saturday at the new you
Barber, Barbara E.
A daughter and her mother have a nice relationship. The daughter spends every Saturday helping out in her mother's beauty parlor. Saturday is the daughter's favorite day of the week.

Jamal's busy day
Hudson, W.
Jamal compares his busy day at school with that of his father, an architect, and his mother, an accountant. Jamal spends his day at school learning and playing with friends, but he has a great time doing it.

Lottie's princess dress
Dorrie, Doris
Lottie wakes up from a dream of castles and gold and realizes that it is a very special day. She cannot wear her usual outfit to school, she must wear her special princess dress. Although her mother says that it is too cold outside, Lottie tries to explain that it is a very special day and everyone should be dressed up. Eventually, Lottie's mother agrees and they both wear princess dresses all day.

Home lovely
Perkins, Lynne Rae
Tiffany and her mom, Janelle, have just moved to a new trailer that is pretty far away from everything else. Since Janelle has to work, Tiffany spends a lot of time playing alone. When she discovers plants growing by her driveway, the mailman helps her take care of them as they grow.

The terrible thing that happened at our house
Blaine, Marge
When a mother goes back to work, things in the house get out of control. The kids feel left out and start to get upset. Finally, with a little compromising, things work out for the best.

All alone after school
Stanek, Muriel
Josh learns how to take care of himself after school when his mother takes a new job and cannot afford a babysitter. Josh learns how to be confident while he's alone by knowing important phone numbers, always keeping the door locked and staying away from the stove. After his mother gives him a lucky charm, Josh learns to overcome his fear of being alone after school.

By the dawn's early light
Ackerman, Karen
Rachel and Josh's mother works the graveyard shift at the factory. The children play with their Nana and she helps them with their homework then gets them ready for bed. They share a special time with their mom in the morning before school, cherishing their time with her by the dawn's early light.

Mommy's office
Hazen, Barbara
A little girl goes to downtown to see the place where her mother works. She compares kindergarten to her mother's office and thinks that they are very similar

My daddy was a soldier: A world war II story
Ray, Deborah Kogan
While Jeannie's daddy is away fighting in the Pacific, Jeannie plants a Victory garden, collects scraps to help the war effort, and sends her daddy letters. She awaits his safe return.

Mommy and me by ourselves again!
Vigna, Judith
Disappointed when her mother's ex-boyfriend forgets her birthday, Amy is comforted by her family when they give her a surprise birthday party and a special gift.

Oops!
Kline, Suzy
A little girl has many accidents throughout a day. But other people have accidents too!

Arthur's computer disaster
Brown, Marc
Arthur is captivated by a new computer game and plays it while his mom is gone, even though she asked him not to. While he is playing with his friend, they both reach for the mouse and the screen suddenly goes blank. Find out if he can fix the computer before his mom gets home, or if he gets the nerve to confront his wrong doing!

Mr. tod's trap
Carrick, Malcolm
Mr. Tod does the hunting for the family. The only problem is that he cannot catch any rabbits. Mr. Tod has many clever ideas for traps. The traps work for Mr. Weasel, but Mr. Tod cannot catch rabbits with them. Mr. Tod and Mrs. Tod decide to switch roles. Mr. Tod is going to take care of the cubs while Mrs. Tod hunt for the rabbits.

Waiting for mom
Tyler, Linda Wagner
At three o'clock, all the students at school went home except for a young hippopotamus. His mother did not come to pick him up so he helped out around school while he waited.

Get out of bed!
Munsch, Robert
Any stays up too late watching television and does not make it to breakfast with her family. They decide to take Amy to school in her bed because she was going to be late. At school the principal tries to wake her up but she keeps sleeping. Her teacher covers reading, math, and art, and her friends go to the gym, recess, and lunch-- all while Amy sleeps!The next day, Amy's habit is hilariously contagious!

Clever cat
Collington, Peter
Tibs, the cat, is tired of waiting for his family to feed him every morning, so he decides to start doing it himself!This encourages Tibs to embark on different adventures around town. Everyone thinks that Tibs is such a clever cat, but a turn of events makes Tibs wonder...is he really that clever?

The best single mom in the world: How I was adopted
Zisk, Mary
A girl tells the story of her single mother's decision to adopt her from overseas. She discusses their time together and their happy life as a family.

When mama comes home tonight
Spinelli, Eileen
Mama tells her child about all the things they will do together when she gets home from work. For example, they will share many activities together leading up to bedtime where mama will read a story, sing lullabies, and finally, tuck her child into bed.

The house I'll build for the wrens
Neitzel, Shirley
A young boy plans to build a house for the wrens in the yard. He starts with a diagram showing what the house will look like. He gets out a toolbox which holds wooden boards, a ruler, hammer, sandpaper, nails, a level, paintbrush, paint, and a scredriver. While he is constructing the birdhouse, his mother comes home. The boy and his mother hang the birdhouse from a tree in the backyard and admire his accomplishment.

I won't go without a father
Stanek, Muriel
Steve refuses to go to Open House night at school because he thinks his classmates will make fun of him for not having a dad. Steve is pleasantly surprised to find he is not alone.

Something beautiful
Wyeth, Sharon Dennis
A little girl looks out her window only to see broken glass and trash in the court yard. She remembers her mother once told her everyone should have something beautiful. She sets out to look for something beautiful in her neighborhood.

The farm summer 1942
Hall, Donald
Peter goes on a trip to a farm to visit his father and experiences many adventures.