On Mother's Lap

Michael, a preschool Inuit boy discovers there is always room on mother’s lap. The illustrator’s soft sketches of a traditional Inuit home lend to the gentle and inviting flow of a boy’s simple but special snuggle with his mother.

getting a new sibling can be hard , learning that you are still important and a mothers love will not change can be hard for little ones this book does an excellent job of letting a child know that there will always be room for him too!
ages 3 and up
Pierce CC

First, let me note for those interested in the subject that this book shows babywearing on the cover.

But that's really just a lagniappe in a good book.

Michael is, as you can guess, sitting on his mother's lap, and he keeps getting down and fetching more and more of his special things to be with him. Eventually all this wakes his sister, and his mother goes to sit her on her lap as well, and he makes room and they snuggle together.

The author doesn't patronize kids by carefully spelling out "Michael is jealous of his sister" or anything of that nature. It's too easy to do that. Instead, Michael's feelings are clearly shown by his words ("There isn't room") and the illustrations (him hiding under his blanket is priceless).

I wouldn't show more suggest giving this to a mother of five who has already started yelling "I WANT MY LAP BACK", after all, the moral is that there's *always* room on mother's lap. But most everybody else is going to love it. show less

On Mother's Lap was a cute book about a boy named Michael. He clearly finds comfort in sitting in his mother's lap. Then gets a little jealous that he has to share mothers lap with his sibling. Thinking that he won't be able to sit there as well. She then says there is always room for them on her lap. It was a cute read that as a parent can relate to as my toddler is the same way!

Michael loves to rock on his mother’s lap in their cozy cabin in Alaska, but he keeps bringing more things onto her lap. When his baby sister wants to join them, he thinks there won’t be space, but as his mother says, there is always room on mother’s lap. Colorful oil pastel illustrations and a COZY, CHILD-CENTERED world create an appealing story of a nurturing mother and a happy child.

Michael jumps in his mother's lap, the love between them warms the room, as "back and forth, back and forth, they rock.'' Michael gets his dolly, then his carved boat, a reindeer blanket and even his puppy; the small rocking chair is full. When baby cries his mother insists there's room for her too, but Michael pouts and hides. All of them end up back in the chair, crowded but cozy and Michael says, "It feels good.'' This is a good story. I like the story line. I think that children take new siblings differently and it is a good way for them to learn that it is okay to have mixed emotions about the situation.
This book could be used to help young children learn and understand emotion. A teacher could read it to the students and have show more them write or draw a similar situation that they have been through. show less

This book illustrates traditional Alaskan life style through clothing and other elements including traditional children’s toys. It shows how much a mother loves her children through a soft cadence in the way that the book reads and the clear yet childlike illustrations.. The young boy does not believe that he and his toys and younger sister can fit on his mothers lap but in the end all of the things can fit on her lap alluding to the idea that a mothers love has no bounds. The illustrations are done in a colored pencil style which is soft and inviting and creates a great depiction of the love that this book describes.