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DID YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU?

Name: DID YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU?
Author: Barbara Costello
ISBN: 9780310167662

WORDS OF WISDOM, WIT, AND LOVE

by Barbara Costello ; illustrated by Margeaux Lucas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2026

Thought-provoking, amusingly illustrated takes on familiar platitudes.

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Costello reconsiders a series of maxims.

Didn’t your mother ever tell you? Sometimes you don’t need to hold your horses. Excitement is a wonderful part of life, and impatience is understandable. Still, the author adds, remember to practice patience from time to time, too. If you’re unhappy, you can cry over spilled milk, but in order to rebound, please share those sad feelings. Honey will indeed catch more flies…“but who wants flies? Being kind is important, but so is standing up for yourself.”They say that birds of a feather flock together, but if you stick to your own kind, you’ll miss out on meeting people “with interesting stories and FABULOUS FACES.” For the final maxim (when it rains, it pours), the author reminds young people that no matter how bad things may seem, rainbows are always around the corner—and everything's better with the support of your loving, wise mother. Most of the text is in verse, rephrasing the adages’ advice and acknowledging and adapting their age-old acumen. The largely realistic, colorful illustrations show diverse kids acting on the axioms, with some fantasy touches: horses meditating, a cow sharing milk and cookies with a youngster, and huge flies playing basketball. The encouraging tone affirms the cultural knowledge packed into these proverbs. And the book potentially poses a question about passed-down precepts: Does contemporary revising weaken or enrich them?

Thought-provoking, amusingly illustrated takes on familiar platitudes. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 7, 2026

ISBN: 9780310167662

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Zonderkidz

Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

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All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)