Mommies are for Counting Stars (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin) [Paperback]

Harriet Ziefert (Author), Cynthia Jabar (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Lift-the-Flap, Puffin

A mommy is a special person. She knows just how to kiss a boo-boo to make it feel better and how to do hair-dos. When you need an audience for your puppet show, a mommy will always watch. Lift the flaps and see all the ways a mommy is wonderful. This celebration of mothers is ideal for Mother's Day and for sharing throughout the year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K-Parental roles are celebrated in these lift-the-flap books. Cartoon illustrations of multihued parents and children accompany simple statements such as those in the titles. Occasionally, thoughts are continued in text found beneath the flaps. The roles as described here are traditional ones. Daddies tease and play, offer a bit of comfort, and go to work. Mommies do a lot of caregiving, cook breakfast, and remind children of their manners. None of these women are shown working outside of the home and a picture of children getting off of the school bus is paired with, "A mommy waits for you to come home." These books are not as charming as many of Ziefert's other titles or as effective as Laura Numeroff's What Mommies Do Best/What Daddies Do Best (S & S, 1998). Flap appeal aside, this is well-intentioned literary fluff comforting to those children whose lifestyles match the featured models.
Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 16 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140565523
• ISBN-13: 978-0140565522
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 7.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Harriet Ziefert was born in New Jersey. She grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University. "About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year. Ziefert's picture book A New Coat for Anna is about a girl in a bombed-out European city during the months just after World War II. Anna has outgrown her old coat, and her mother trades her few surviving treasures--a watch, a lamp, a necklace, and a porcelain teapot--in order to obtain wool and have it spun, woven, and finally sewn into a fine red coat for Anna. A Horn Book Magazine reviewer stated, "the simple text, based on a true story, carries the narrative along effectively." The book, which was illustrated by Anita Lobel, was chosen as one of ten books to be read aloud by former First Lady Barbara Bush as part of a program promoting reading. Ziefert was invited to the White House for the occasion. The reason Ziefert began writing easy-to-read books was that she felt "they were getting too hard for kids to read in the first grade." She says that she wrote easy-to-read books with seventy-five or fewer words, even ones with fifty or fewer words, "to see how much of a story" she could produce with that limit. She enjoyed the challenge, and cites her book Sleepy Dog as an example. "Sleepy Dog is the most successful book I've ever done, in terms of number of books sold." She's also been working on a developmental program with publisher Dorling Kindersley, made up of books for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Her book Pete's Chicken, which was illustrated by Laura Rader, was reviewed in the New York Times Book Review as "a simple, sweet 'Song of Myself' for children . . . [which] applauds the specialness of every child as it reminds parents of the healing power of just being there for children." Among her other books is a series of easy-to-read books, such as Trip Day and Worm Day, about an inventive science teacher and his rambunctious class of students. Ziefert's book Let's Get a Pet was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children by a joint committee of the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council. . Ms. Ziefert lives in Maplewood, New Jersey and Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has two adult sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mommies get to have fun with the kids, too!, January 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mommies are for Counting Stars (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin) (Paperback)

Okay, so admittedly, this is a quibble from a tired mom, BUT: why is it that while in the other books in this series, Daddies and Grandpas get to do fun loving stuff like play ball and go to the movies, but Mommies are busy driving kids places and cleaning them up? Maybe that IS reality, but it's only part of reality! This mom would love to see the Mommies in this book getting to do more fun things -- paint pictures, make snow angels, bake cookies, roll down hills in the grass -- with the kiddos. More fun for Moms! We need it, and kids need to see us having it, and not just associate us with having their faces wiped and being put to bed...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Embarassing, March 7, 2006

By 

BigKnowItAll (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mommies are for Counting Stars (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin) (Paperback)

I own the "Daddies" version of this book, and really love it, so I bought this book with high expectations. While I consider myself fairly old-fashioned in my viewpoint about motherhood, I was pretty embarassed by this book. In a nutshell, this author seems to view mothers as equal parts drill sargent (mom tells you when to stop, when to go, when to say 'excuse me," etc.), chauffeur (mom drives you where you need to go, woo-hoo!), and nurse (mom cooks, bathes you, and brushes your hair). While there are certainly days when I feel like that is indeed all I do as a mother, I guess I would have appreciated a few fun things thrown in that moms can do as well. Also, there's a page in the book that says a Mommy can "look like a rose" and sometimes "have a baby inside of her." This seemed oddly out of place, which another reviewer stated as well. I would have preferred to see some mention of how sometimes Mommies go to work (similar to the "Daddies" book). Even though I am a stay-at-home-mom, I know that a lot of women are not, and it would have been nice to see a reference to working moms. Overall, this book wasn't in any way endearing or sweet. I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe she wrote this book after a particularly exhausting day with her children.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Charming..., February 21, 2001

By 

A Grammy (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mommies are for Counting Stars (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin) (Paperback)

This little book is a delight, leaving your little one feeling safe and secure having the loving care of a Mommy. Creating a sense of trust is also implied.

When I originally bought this book I read it to my little grandson and he loved it, especially opening the flaps was a big treat. Now he can repeat what is under each of the flaps, unprompted, and even though he is now 21 months it is still one of his favorite books.

Subsequently, I gave it to my daughter last year for Mother's Day and my son-in-law was given, "Daddies are for Catching Fireflies" on Father's Day. He was just thrilled ~ a book written especially about him.

These books are simple, easy to follow, with large, clear, uncluttered and lovely illustrations with perfect text!