Hello, everyone! Thanks to the kind folks at Candlewick Press and Penguin Random House Canada, I will be taking a look at two new adorable board books from bestselling and beloved children’s author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli: Mommy (just in time for Mother’s Day coming up this weekend!) and Daddy. I will also include a peak at some of the board books that have been popular and on rotation at home with our kids! Happy reading to you all!

Popular author and illustrator Leslie Patricelli is the creative force behind bestselling board books like Toot (a favourite giggly read with my kids!), Quiet Loud, Hair, Tooth, and numerous other delightful children’s books. In her newest board books, Patricelli turns her attention to Mommy and Daddy (with the help of one-haired Baby, of course!). With a big open-mouthed smile and call of “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!”, Baby brings readers into happy time with their mommy. In rhyming verses, highlighting everything from kisses, singing, dancing and giggling, to cleaning up spills on “face and tummy”, Mommy is a joyful and sweet exploration of all the amazing, wonderful, loving things that mommies do. Towards the end of the story, Baby and Mommy go and play hide-and-seek, giving readers and Baby a chance to see other children and their mommies, as well as an adorable turn for Baby to finally find their “very best” mommy. In Daddy, the story opens with an introduction to Baby’s dad who is “so big and strong” and whose “legs are so, so long”. In similar fashion to Mommy, Daddy explores the fun, active things that Baby and daddy do together, including cooking, cleaning, spinning, building, and much more. The closing pages also offer a look at other children and their daddies, and a kiss-filled closing on the “just right” daddy for Baby. In all, the Mommy and Daddy board books are delightful, happy romps- as you might expect from Leslie Patricelli’s board books! While arguably more traditional in their representations of “mommy” and “daddy”, the board books do try to include a broader diversity of people and parental representations in respective scenes. Readers who enjoy cozy, rhyming reads, or those who have enjoyed or are currently enjoying any of Leslie Patricelli’s board books starring Baby might especially enjoy the warmth and sweetness of Mommy and Daddy.

Now here is a look at some of the other board books- some our own, some checked out from our library- that have been on our reading rotation at bedtime lately. If you’ve been following my Instagram lately, you might recognize some of the same titles!

I received copies of Leslie Patricelli’s Mommy and Daddy courtesy of partner Candlewick Press and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions and comments are my own. Titles have been published and are currently available.