Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in order to provide an honest review. All opinions are my own.

April showers bring May flowers. May flowers are perfect for Mom for Mother's Day! Today we are sharing two newly released mom-themed picture books and one of them is about flowers, so we are including a flower craft roundup! Each book is a wonderful reminder of how important mom is to kids. The first book is When We Were Snails by Nan Cao. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

About the Book:

When her mom has to work far away, a young girl holds on to the memory of her mother’s unwavering love and dreams of their reunion. This heartwarming story delves into the challenges of having a working parent and the courage it takes to be apart from your loved ones. Features a unique jacket and case design!

“We are like snails: brave adventurers. They carry their homes on their backs and in their hearts. And they leave traces of themselves wherever they go.”

A young girl and her mom move often from city to city, always starting over together like adventurous snails. But one day, when her mom gets a job in another city, they are separated for a long time.

While being raised by her loving grandparents, the girl can’t help but miss her mom and yearn for the day they will reunite. But through drawing and remembering her mother’s encouraging words, the girl learns to be brave on her own until they are together again.

With two distinct illustrated covers, one on the jacket and the other on the case, vibrant art, and poignant text, When We Were Snails depicts the love between a child and mother, and the everlasting bond that exists between them, no matter the distance or time apart.

From Me:

What a beautiful book sharing the special bond between a Chinese mother and child. In this book a girl remembers her time with her mother. They moved often but explored and had adventures together. She loved being with her mother and all the fun things they would do. Then when her mother has to take a job in a big city the girl is left in the care of her loving grandparents. Her mother gives her a box of crayons. The girl is missing her mother but tries to be brave. Drawing with the crayons helps, but she still misses her mom. The next time the mom gets called away for a job the girl gets to go. As they move so much and she switches schools, the crayons become a sense of home and safety until she is old enough to be teased for still using crayons. Then her mother gives her chalk, and she learns that she does not need to fit into other people's views of her.

This book is such a beautiful book. The illustrations are colorful and fun, and it shares a bit of the Chinese culture. It really shares the strong relationship that can exist between mother and child especially when the mother is a single parent. I love the message of them being like snails since they are moving around so much. It is a perfect book for Mother's Day as well as for the family that does move around often. It also shares a lifestyle that may be different for many kids which is also always good! To go with this book, it would be fun to do a snail craft. You can check out some of the past snail craft roundups here.

Our second book features kittens who want to make flowers for their mom. It is Flowers for Mama by Deborah Freedman. It is recommended for ages 3 to 7.

About the Book:

Deborah Freedman is back with a heartwarming picture book on patience and love, perfect for Mother’s Day!

For Mama’s special day, the kittens decide to gift her all sorts of flowers. Some are drawn and stamped. Others stitched and sung. Oleander, though, plants a seed in hopes of gifting her a real flower. But as Mama’s special day approaches, Oleander’s flower still hasn’t blossomed. Will he have a gift in time?

Flowers for Mama shows us many ways art can be made and how, with a little patience and a lot of love, very different flowers can all come together to form a whole garden, just for Mama.

From Me:

The kittens want to honor their mama for all she does for them. Her special day is approaching, and Oleander has the idea of making flowers for her. Oleander questions his decision to grow flowers when his siblings have colorful flower crafts for Mama on her special day and he has a pot of dirt. However, Mama loves all the gifts including Oleander's since she knows she will have beautiful flowers eventually. The book shares different ways to create flowers and the artwork shows the ways the kittens craft the flowers. There are crafts with drawing, painting and collaging, and even writing a song. Each is creative in his or her own way!

I love how this book honors the homemade gifts! It also honors the kittens' different talents. Some are artistic and another writes and sings songs. Then there is Oleander who is a gardener. Mama loves all of her flowers and finds it so wonderful. The special day for Mama is not specified so it could be Mother's Day or her birthday. This book is perfect for reading as Mother's Day approaches. It is the perfect book for a young classroom before they are about to do some Mother's Day crafts for gifts. It is also just a fun book that is challenging the reader to think outside the box for creating flowers!! Plus, we are sharing many different flower crafts to check out and possibly make with the kids!

Flower Craft Roundup:

In Flowers for Mama each kitten creates flowers in different ways to gift their mother. It seems appropriate to share some different flower crafts to make with the book and to gift for Mother's Day or May Day! Be sure to check out our past flower craft roundup for even more flower crafts!