Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Lyons Public Library | JP SPINELLI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Library | PRE FIC SPI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Library | PRE FIC SPI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | FAMILY SPINELLI | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... West Salem Branch Library | JP Spinelli | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | E SPINELLI | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
It can be hard waiting for Mama to come home, but once she's there it's the best time of the day. This soothing, rhythmic book celebrates the precious rituals a mother and child perform together as they wind down to bedtime. It shows that when you share them with someone you love, even the most simple activities can be playful, relaxing, and intimate.
Author Notes
Eileen Spinelli was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 16, 1942. After high school, she worked as a waitress at a local diner, a secretary, and answered phones at an airplane factory. She eventually became the author of children's books. Her picture books include Thanksgiving at the Tappletons, Do You have a Hat, While You are Away, When Mama Comes Home Tonight, Wanda's Monster, Here Comes the Year, A Big Boy Now, and Hug a Bug. She is also the author of several short novels including Lizzie Logan Wears Purple Sunglasses, Lizzie Logan Gets Married, and Lizzie Logan, Second Banana. She received the Christopher Award for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Mama comes home from work to her loving child ready for the night's routine of dinner and play, cleaning and mending, bath, book, and bed. It's an ideal environment: no stress, no crying, with mother and child in perfect harmony. While this idyllic scene might strike adults as unrealistic, for children, the ultimate response will be positive. The rhyming text is nicely paced, soothing without being humdrum or coy. The thrice repeated refrain, "When Mama comes home from work, dear child,/when Mama comes home tonight," sets the upbeat tone while establishing a tidy framework for the tale. The paintings appear either as full-page spreads where intricate patterns abound, or as circular vignettes that are focused on one aspect of the story. Created with colored pencils and watercolors, the illustrations are lovely and youngsters will fall into their soft dreamy glow. The child's rosy cheeks and red curly hair are a mirror of Mama's. There is a sweetness to this book, an inner strength that defies reality. It could become a necessary oasis in an otherwise hectic, domestic schedule, making reading it to a child before bedtime pure pleasure.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Another song worth singing, Eric Carle's Today Is Monday, begins with string beans on Monday and spaghetti on Tuesday. Different animals eat their way through the week, teaching the names of the days as they go. Music and lyrics included. ( Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A mother returns home from work and sweetly celebrates with her child the precious time between homecoming and bed with a series of warm rituals incorporating cuddling, playing, eating, and bathing. The verse is natural; the art, a combination of watercolor and colored pencils, enriches the text's tenderness and adds to its nostalgic, idealized mood. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The few precious hours between an outside-the-home working mother's arrival at her child's side and that child's bedtime are viewed through an idealized lens; the effecteither loving or hopelessly sentimentalizedwill depend on the outlook of adults who open this book for lap-sharing. The rhythmic text meant to soothe seems forced and stilted; the repeated use of the phrase ``dear child'' distances the words unnecessarily. Muted pastel illustrations conjure an era from the past: The mother's old- fashioned rosiness, hairstyle, and dress are WWII or earlier, reminding readers that ``working'' mothers are not a novelty. As mother and child share both boisterous and quiet activities, culminating in peaceful slumber, the well-tended house and the gentle admonishment to put the blocks away are elements that may reflect how mothers would like to envision their day, rather than what really transpires. (Picture book. 3-5)
Booklist Review
Ages 3^-6. With a soft, warm glow radiating from the pictures, this tender book depicts a joyous reunion between a child and a working mother: "When Mama comes home from work, dear child, / when Mama comes home tonight, / she'll cover you with kisses, / she'll hug you sweet and tight." The melodious text has a pleasing rhyme that will make the book wonderful for reading aloud, and Dyer's touching, softly focused watercolor-and-colored-pencil artwork, which is studded with delicate patterns reminiscent of designs on a country patchwork quilt, does a fine job of capturing the quiet pleasure of the words. The pictures show the loving mother and child, both with gently curling carrot-colored hair, as they dance, play pat-a-cake, and spend precious moments together, finally ending the day with lovely lullabies. With a slightly younger feel than Russo's straightforward When Mama Gets Home [BKL Mr 1 98], this is the perfect book for lap sharing "when Mama comes home tonight." --Stephanie Zvirin