Picture book 12

Title:Love to Mama
Illustrator:Paula S. Barragan M.
Genre:Picture
Sub Genre:Realistic Fiction
Theme:Moms and Grandmothers are admirable and important figures in a girl's life.
Primary and Secondary Characters: None
Award(s) date of publication: 2001
Publishing Company:Lee and Low Books
Brief Summary:There are a variety of poems included in this book. They are all stories about mothers and grandmothers. It focuses on all of the positive and heroic-like qualities that these role models possess. I think it is a sweet book. My favorite poem is titled "Race." It is a young girl describing the strength and courage of her mother who rode horses back when women didn't have many rights. Another sweet poem I enjoyed was one titled "Palomita." This is a young girl describing her mother. She describes her sky blue skirt with birds, flowers, clouds, rain, and an image of the sun all beautifully embroidered on it. Her mother calls her daughter, Palomita, which means her little dove. These stories are kind of culture specific and some have Spanish included in them. This is such a great book and the stories are so sweet!
Used in the classroom: This would be a great book to show the students on Mother's Day specifically. I think it will show the students how words can be used to express appreciation, admiration, and other thoughts/feelings as well. I think students will be able to relate to this if they have a mother-figure in their life. I think this type of book would really be great for 5th grade students. I think they would enjoy reading it as much as I did.