Mother and Child: The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin

WHEN YOU WERE TOO SMALL TO TELL ME HELLO,

I KNEW YOU WERE SOMEONE I WANTED TO KNOW.

The first time alone with a new baby is the time a parent realizes the enormity of what it means. There a whole new person there, with unknown possibilities, a future yet unforeseeable, with so many possibilities, a personality that they must begin to know. They look at each other and both see someone important. And as the child grows, the parents go along also, showing the child the world.  And they know...

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THERE HAS EVER BEEN A YOU.

There is much to wish for the new child–-kindness, cleverness, the strength to stand up for the good, the capacity to love and to enjoy life. In Emily Winfield Martin’s (Random House), this little book is the way to greet the new one with hopes and wishes and warnings for what lies ahead, set out in a bright four-page gatefold spread of the many things children do as they grow. And the parent cannot help thinking about all the millions of steps and sights and joys the child will take and see and feel in the time together that lies ahead. This little best-seller is a wonderful alternative to a card and/or baby gift to the new mother and child.

Llama Drama II: Llama, Llama, Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

Anna Dewdney, whose Llama, Llama, Red Pajama deals with the, er, ups and downs of toddler bedtime, turns her perceptive hand to another bugaboo, the SHOPPING EXPEDITION.

Baby Llama is interrupted in his fun in the sun for a trip to the big box Shop-A-Rama. Grumpy from being snatched from his playtime and then wakened abruptly from his carseat nap, he is plopped down in a cart as Mama Llama tries to sweeten the deal with the promise of a treat after the shopping is done. Like most little ones, shopping is not really Baby Llama's passion:

Look at knees and stand in line
Llama, Llama
starts to whine.
Brand new socks, underwear?
Llama, Llama does not care!

Boring stuff like bread and Cream of Wheat, juice, and paper towels begin to fill the cart, while Baby's patience wears thin as the shopping drill loses its thrill. Finally it's a Shop-A-Rama meltdown, with Baby tossing the pasta and towels right out of the cart and demanding to GO! Mama gets down on eye level as she asserts, "Llama, Llama, that's enough!!!"

Please stop fussing,
little Llama,
No more of this llama drama!
I think shopping's boring, too,
But at least I'm here with YOU!

Mama picks up the mess and encourages Baby Llama to help her push the cart as they team up to get the job done, get an ice cream treat, and figure out where Mama parked the car. Finally, they gladly "say goodbye to Shop-A-Rama."

As in her bedtime book, Mama Llama's facial expressions tell the story as she empathizes with her emotional toddler but firmly helps shape his behavior in the right direction. Llama Llama Mad at Mama is a great book to help toddlers learn to control the "llama drama" frustrations at the local super center.