Mommy, Please Don't Go to Work!
by Rhiannon Ally
Ascend Books

"'I'll be there when you need me. I miss you when I'm away from you and will always come home.'"

Being a working mom isn’t easy. Often, children don’t understand why mommies go to work rather than stay home with them all day. Children may even believe their behavior affects their mother’s decision to go to work. Ally explores this topic in her new book. The children, Leo and Lucie, try to find a way to keep their mother home with them. They are sad that she isn’t always there to play with them or pick them up from school. One morning, they clean up their playroom and are on their best behavior, but their mother still goes to work. Another morning, they throw food and misbehave, but, again, their mother must leave. However, when a bake sale at school goes awry, the children see how their mother’s job, and the jobs of many other moms, assist people in need.

Many parents may find Ally’s book a helpful tool to start a conversation with their children about why they must go to work. The failing bake sale is a good illustration of why moms have careers and how these careers are important and benefit others, including the children and their school. Also, having mothers from various professions and diverse backgrounds helps include children who are looking in books to find families like their own. The book employs bold, clear illustrations, and the family dog stands out in the pictures, as it is drawn in a different and unique style. Parents struggling to explain leaving their children for a job will appreciate this book to initiate dialogue about this emotional topic.

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