Thursday, September 23, 2010

My Mother is So Smart! by Tomie DePaola

My Mother is So Smart! by Tomie DePaola

Rating: 3 stars

This is the best book ever!  All kids should read it and believe it!  Because we moms ARE the smartest!

Actually, though we adore Tomie DePaola in this house, this is not one of my favorite books of his.  It is a very cute ode to his own mother (it's written in the first person; like so many of his books, the little boy in the picture is like a little Tomie), and I trust it will sell pretty well because a) it's a Tomie DePaola book and b) there are lots of moms who need gifts at least three times a year.

DePaola points out why his mother is so smart, starting at the time he was a baby: "She always knew when to change my diaper" and "she always knew I was hungry before I cried."  And then when he was older: "My mother is so smart that when it's cold out, she gives us breakfast that makes us warm" and "she can dance the polka." 

No doubt this is a cute book, but I just wonder if I'd like it more if DePaola used "wonderful" instead of "smart?"  Smart makes me think of business meetings and math problems, creative ideas and genius solutions.  But maybe I'm the one who needs to redefine smart.  That would definitely help me during the days when I think "This is it?"  Not that I don't love being a stay-at-home mom, but...like everyone out there, sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if I had a different job.  But then I glance over at Lorelei and Ben and realize any other job just isn't worth it.  There's time for Other.  Right now I have Them.

If I do my job right, maybe they'll buy this book for me in 20 or 30 years!

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