Rebecca Cobb

I really enjoyed this picture book. One of the reasons I liked this book was because of the writing. I think the way the author wrote the book matched the theme of the book very well. The idea of losing a parent is very overwhelming, and the author compensated that by giving each page one or two sentences. Some sentences are not even completed on the same page; they are started on one page and finished on the next page. I think this perfectly complements the story.
A second reason I liked show more this book was because it pushes readers to think about tough issues and broadens perspectives. While divorce may be a seemingly common home situation, the death of a parent is not. For any reader, this book can broaden their mind about the idea of life and death. The book goes from the idea that ‘mommy left’ to the concept of mommy’s death. I think this is an excellent example of broadening the child’s perspectives because not only is death difficult to explain, it is also difficult in general to discuss.
The big idea that I picked up on in this story is that it is okay to be upset about traumas and tragedies. The end game is to carry on through life rather than wallow in the past. show less

Chose to read for the illustrator; was not disappointed. The text is wonderful, too. This would be a good one to read *before* a loss. I'm not a huge fan of bibliotherapy as a 'read this and you'll feel better' but if, say, a kindergarten read this, then when one of their classmates did lose a family member, they might not be as clueless as otherwise. Really, though, it's such a good book, go ahead and use it whenever you think it would help, along with the other things you're doing for the show more child. show less

I thought “Missing Mommy” was an emotional but good book. I liked how the author uses a child’s point of view to capture the emotions that a child would feel with the loss of their mother. I think that the author used very specific details including the simple things such as the cleaning tasks that a mother used perform that the family must now take care of as an excellent way of explaining the loss through the eyes of a child. The illustrator also did a great job of using sparse child show more like drawings to reinforce the strong emotions involved with this topic. The single picture of the mother on the wall, especially strengthens the fact that for the child this is the memory they will have of their mother. This book working with the tough theme of bereavement does a good job of pushing the reader to see how the death of a mother would be for a child. show less

There are a few reasons as to why I liked this book. All of the illustrations are done in crayon, which I like a lot because it represents that this is through a young child’s perspective. I also like the writing because it is engaging and organized. For example, when the boy says, “Some time ago, we said good-bye to Mommy. I am not sure where she has gone,” this leaves the reader wondering where she could have gone. The characters are also quite believable, especially the young boy. show more He describes his emotions and how they change throughout the story, such as anger, guilt, sadness and bewilderment. This story pushes readers to think about tough situations such as death and to experience the emotions the boy deals with. For readers who have lost their Mothers, they can relate to this story and to the boy, as to how he was confused at first and dealt with many mixed emotions. The big idea of this story is that death is natural and although it is very emotional for family members, they still belong to a loving family that supports them through this tough time. show less