On Mother's Lap

Beginning on the title page, the pastel illustrations tell the story of a young boy in the Arctic trying to put his most prized possessions on his mother’s lap. In a simple, patient, child centered viewpoint the boy learns that there is always enough room.

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

Michael is being rocked to sleep by his mother and decides some of his things need him. He gets off his mom’s lap and grabs his dolly, boat and blanket to be rocked with him. His younger brother begins to cry and needs to be rocked. Michael’s mother gets up to get his little brother but Michael says there is no room. However, when his mother brings in his little brother Michael finds there is plenty of room on mother’s lap for everyone.

I could relate to this story because my brother would do the same thing to me when we were younger.

This book could be used in class if a student is going to have a new brother or sister, especially younger children, to help them understand that they will still be loved and are not being show more replaced. The teacher could also recommend the book to parents. The book could also be read to the children before Mother’s day. The children could write letters to their mothers about how much they love their super powers, like their always being room on mother’s lap. show less

This board book gently captures the love between an Eskimo mother, son and new baby sister. Illustrations show that no matter what, there's always room on mother's lap. This book would be good to use in a Pre-K setting exploring families and how they're different and the same.

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