Before I Was Your Mother [Hardcover]

Kathryn Lasky (Author), LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

To Katie, it seems as if her mother has always been her mother, with her grocery lists, her purse full of bills to pay, and her boring, sensible shoes. But when her mother reveals that she once was a girl who bossed her little brother, wore firefighter boots to bed, and dreamed grand ballerina dreams, Katie realizes that she and her mother might be alike after all.
This humorous, warmhearted blend of past and present celebrates the special love mothers and daughters share.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A beautifully written, lovingly executed trip down memory lane. Sepia-toned endpapers at the beginning of the book introduce readers to a freckle-faced girl in pigtails; endpapers at the conclusion feature colorful images of her daughter at the same age, years later. In between, the quiet refrain-"I wasn't always your mother"-gently reminds readers of the child that this adult narrator used to be. Pham's watercolor, pen-and-ink, and collage illustrations use warm tones throughout, but rely primarily on soft shades of brown and tan for the mother's childhood memories and brighter, crisper hues for those of her as a grown woman with her daughter. This fond tribute to loving mothers and daughters everywhere promises to become a bedtime favorite.
Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. In this sweet, honest slice of life, a mother talks to her daughter, recalling herself as a little girl (with a friend named Ruby and a brother named Freddy), a girl who put on a circus in her backyard and ate her mother's Jell-O. The mother assures her daughter that she was not always "the mother who tells you to shush when I'm on the telephone," and the accompanying picture shows the daughter, a boa around her neck, and her friends pretending to be singers. Another spread goes back in time to show the mother as a girl with her pal Ruby on a "starry, starry night" when they turned the garbage can lids upside down and tap-danced on them, "just to hear the rat-a-tat-tat bounce into the darkness." Adults may sense an almost melancholy dimension to the text, but that perception comes with age. Children will be charmed by the thought of mothers who were girls with exuberance and dreams much like their own. The watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations, bursting with real life and remembrance, celebrate the story. Conversations galore will spring from this. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152014640
• ISBN-13: 978-0152014643
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi Readers! Thanks for coming by my author page. I've written all sorts of books - from fantasy about animals to books about science. One of my favorite animal fantasy series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, is a major motion picture. I liked writing about Ga'Hoole so much that I decided to revisit that world in a new series, Wolves of the Beyond. Visit my website, www.kathrynlasky.com to see a slide show about the real wolves I researched for the series and for the latest update on the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie. All my best, Kathryn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tugs on the heartstrings, May 14, 2003

By 

VictoriaCee "seethelight" (Myrtle Beach, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before I Was Your Mother (Hardcover)

I received this book for Mother's Day from a dear friend who supported me through a long struggle with infertility. I was blessed to give birth to my daughter Caitlin in September, 2000. This book is wonderfully touching as a mother tells her daughter about what she was like before she became a mother, and how much she longed to someday be a mom. She tells her daughter, Katie, how she named all of her stuffed animals and toys "Katie" ... and how "she dreamed of having her own little girl to love."
"Now, I am your mother, and you are my only Katie. I tuck you in and tell you stories about the time before your time, when I was a little girl who ...slept in her firefighter boots...and who dreamed of having her own little girl to love."

For any woman who has longed for a child and has had her dream come true, this book will tug at her heartstrings for sure. And what a wonderful way for us to remind our children of how much they were wanted and how deeply they are loved.

I can't say enough about this book, as you can see. :)

Caits Mama (Who also named her dog Katie when she was a kid)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful tribute to mothers and daughters everywhere, April 20, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Before I Was Your Mother (Hardcover)

Engagingly written by Kathryn Lasky, Before I Was Your Mother is a thoughtful tribute to mothers and daughters everywhere, reminiscing about how every beloved mother was once a precocious little girl herself. Charming color illustrations by LeUyen Pham fill the pages of this tender picture book for young readers ages 3 to 7. Very highly recommended for family, school, and community library picture book collections, Before I Was Your Mother would make an especially nice gift for Mother's Day!

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet, March 24, 2007

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before I Was Your Mother (Hardcover)

Kids have a hard time understanding that their parents were once small children. In this picture book a mom explains to her child of all the things she did before becoming a parent. She did things like make lots of noise, fought with her brother and loved all kinds of shoes! But the thing that the mom has always wanted is to have a little girl. She use to dream of that day and now her dream has come true and she is sharing the old stories of her childhood with her own daughter!