My Mom Travels a Lot

by Caroline Feller Bauer, Nancy Winslow Parker (Illustrator), Nancy Parker (Illustrations)

A child points out the good and the bad things about a mother's job that takes her from home a lot.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family

4 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Siskiyou-Suzy]

There are a lot of outdated references to gender norms in This is the Way We Go to School despite it being relatively unusual in that the mom is the one who travels a lot for work and doesn't spend much time at home. I hoped to use this in a classroom for children who may have a similar situation, but I've decided it's not entertaining or interesting enough and when taking into account the other detrimental gender norms displayed, I've decided not to use it.

[Rut]

Beautiful short story! So short indeed, and yet wonderfully written for in those few paragraphs, it gives you enough glimpses to set your imagination on fire and build up many other anecdotes behind each scene. The illustrations are beautiful which also contribute to relating with the characters more and more as you read. Maybe the reason I loved it so much is because of the dog, she looks like my own, except bigger. 💓

[Melinda Christensen]

This book is a comfort to those children whose mom's have to travel for their jobs. It lists the pluses and minuses that come with this family situation. I felt it could be helpful in many situations like the military, for example.

[Mother Goose Librarian]

As the title states, this book is about the positives and negatives regarding a little girl’s mom’s traveling for work.The story follows a predictable pattern. Recommended.

[Renee]

“My Mom Travels A Lot” is about a little girl whose mother’s job takes her away from home a lot. The drawing’s and writing are sweet and humorous; you can feel the child’s frustration of missing her mom. The story gives familiar situations to children in circumstances where mom especially would be missed; mom can always find things better than dad, mom misses school programs, and then the girl gives situations where its fun when mom is gone; postcards are fun to receive, its fun to go the airport, its fun to eat out more and not have to make your bed, and its really great when mom comes back home! This book gives the opportunity to talk about the parent’s occupations and what the child wants to be when he grows up.

[Amber Lewis]

My Mom Travels A Lot is a good read. It is about a girl who misses her mother because she travels a lot due to her job. She discusses the good things and bad things about her mother being gone. The book uses two repeated phrases throughout to discuss the pros and cons of the character's mother always traveling. "The good thing about it is..." and "The bad thing about it is..." are the two alternating lines used by the author that repeat over the course of the book. This use of repetition is good for beginning readers to assist them on becoming better readers, so I would use this in a kindergarten or first grade class.

[Andrea]

Good for younger students. Uses the concept of compare and contrast as a child explains the good and bad of her mother traveling. Some students have a difficult time when their parents are away. This lets them know they are not alone. This isn't what I would consider childrens' literature, but rather an easy read book for an early reader on a specific topic.

[Carla Raymer]

This is a great book to read to a child who is struggling with the fact that their parent works to much or has to travel so much. I would read this and hopefully encourage them to see that even though there can be a bad side to their parent being gone so much, there is always a positive way to look at it. A great book to make a child feel a bit better.

[Caroline]

I loved this book as a child. It's adorable, and looking back, I think it normalised the idea of mothers working outside the home, and of fathers sometimes doing the majority of looking after kids. It was published in 1981, and I think it was pretty ahead of its time.

[Ellen]

my mom gave me this book when i was four to help explain why she had to travel so often.
it helped :)