“M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)”
By Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Laura Cornell
Atheneum, $16.99, ages 6-10
This book will be most fun read by, or with, classmates or family members old enough to share in its style of humor. (Almost but not quite all of the humor applies to a parenting dad as well, especially about sleep, nutrition and how seat belts prevent parents from reaching behind their seats while driving.) Preschoolers might not laugh at the list of “minor malfunctions,” like “heavy sighing” and “groaning” or when readers are told that the “well-maintained well-rested Mom” is “an extremely rare model.” Pick the audience with which you share this book carefully, but that’s no reason not to enjoy all its humor.
