Mama's Coming Home

Rating:
Summary: a rather catching little picture book
Review: Mama's Coming Home is a rather catching little picture book. Whilst brief, it has a certain attraction (no not just the brevity) in the wonky joyful urgent pictures.
Papa is at home with the children doing all those household things, soothing woes and feeding the dog, the cat and the baby, getting the boys to pick up their toys and making dinner.
Meanwhile alternating pages show mama closing up the shops and hurrying home - on the train and through the rain.
The artist has drawn in the urgency of getting home, and mama dominates the pages by mostly being taller and more vital than the other characters.
The words have a rhythmic quality and my 3yr old loves this book. He delights in the details eg mama closes up a PET shop, gets WET with rain, the boys play with their TRAIN set.
It starts like this:

The clock goes ticktock on the wall.
The phone is ringing down the hall.
Shops are closing for the day.
Mama's coming home.

The Mama's coming home refrain is repeated on every second page and there is an illustration of where she is and what she's doing, in comparasion to the doings at the house.

It would be a nice little adjuster for any child who doesn't understand "whyyyy" he has to wait for mommy or papa to arrive. Cute.