Oh My, Oh No!

PreS-K—The little girl in this sweet story tries to be just like her mother, from drinking coffee to wearing makeup. She also wants to be helpful and considerate, attempting to mop the floor and create artwork on the walls to make her mother smile, but her efforts only lead to the woman's exasperation and frustration ("'Oh my, oh no! What are you doing? There's water everywhere!'"). The child's sunny perspective is not dampened by constant chastisement, and she is precocious enough to acknowledge that mommies can just be "strange" and "can't understand everything." ("Can't she see?/I want to help her./Sometimes Monmy doesn't understand anything." In spite of the ongoing disasters, the story ends with the mother reaching out to her daughter with a "smile" in her eye and the child knowing that her mother will always love her. The pastel illustrations capture the simplicity and innocence of childhood, and readers will enjoy following the orange and yellow kitty as she shares the little girl's daily adventures. An enjoyable story for parents and children to share.—Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA