Two Especially (But Not Exclusively) for Mothers : You Were Loved Before You Were Born and MA! There's Nothing to Do Here!

Two mega-stars of the elementary firmament, Eve Bunting and Barbara Park, have tackled a difficult topic, one which straddles the boundary between books for the young and books for their parents as well. Waiting for baby is a big deal, whether you are the expectant parents or the expectant grandparents, or even the expectant siblings, and Eve and Barbara have two brand-new, very different but equally appealing takes on this life-changing event.

Caldecott author Eve Bunting's You Were Loved Before You Were Born shows the parents-in-waiting busy making ready for the soon-to-be-born child. Written as a time capsule love letter from the mother and father to their future child, the text details how they prepare a place in their home and in their hearts for their little newcomer. The to-be grandmother plants "a rosebush in the garden that will grow as you grow;" the grandpa brings over a rocking chair. "I sat in it to rock your sisters and then you," Grandma explains to the mother-to-be.

Everyone helps paint and decorate the nursery room, and the aunt-to-be adds a moon and stars to the ceiling. Cousins help sort and put away the lovingly-kept hand-me-downs from earlier babies, nephews bring old toys, and the neighbor makes a butterfly kite. "It'll be a while before baby will be big enough to fly a kite," the mother says. "I can wait," the neighbor replies. "We told the dog you would be here soon," the parents say, "and then--YOU came."

"You were loved by so many people before you were born ... and you still are."

In contrast, best-selling humorist Barbara Park (of Junie B. Jones fame) views the family situation from the viewpoint of the babe in utero. Ma! There's Nothing to Do Here! A Word from your Baby-in-Waiting (Picture Book) is a witty but poignant plea from the little one inside, as he looks forward to the joys of being in the big, wide world.

I'm all in a heap here.
My feet are asleep here.
I'm flat out of space;
I've got knees in my face.
I'm totally bored
with this dumb bungee cord.
I'm not kidding you--
There's NOTHING to do!

If I just had a truck
or a small yellow duck,
or a cat or a bug
or a teddy bear named DOUG!

The baby warns his parents that even when he's finally out there, there may be some, er, issues:

Plus, my head's kinda wobbly
I'll need support, prob'ly,
And nights might get bumpy.
I'll wake full of grumpy.

So, Ma, here's the plan--
Let's rest while we can.
I'll stay in here longer,
Get bigger and stronger.
Then, ready--set--YAY!
I'll come out to play.

Inspired by the ultrasound portrait of her own first grandchild and written as a shower gift for the second grandchild, Park's jaunty rhyming text teams with illustrations by Viviana Garofoli to create the perfect book for the expectant mom and dad. Siblings-in-waiting will also enjoy Park's humorous take on life from a "womb without a view." As the babe signs out with an "I love you, Your Baby," we see the expectant mid-section of Ma as she rocks in her waiting nursery--with, what else, a teddy named Doug all ready and waiting, cradled on her crowded lap.

As a shower or baby gift for new mothers or as a remembrance for mothers looking back on the joys of looking forward, these two books bring a few smiles and more than a few tugs at the heart strings. Happy Mother's Day to all.