Critical Issues Books (2)

Mama Will Be Home Soon

Minchella, N. (2003). Mama will be home soon. NY: Scholastic Press.


ISBN:0-439-38491-5

This is a story about a girl Lili waiting for her mother to come back home. Lili’s mother goes out several days, and she told Lili that her grandma will look after her. Before Lili’s mother boards on a ferry, she told Lili that she will be back soon wearing a yellow hat. After her mother left, Lili is looking for the yellow hat all the time. But every time she saw something yellow it reminded her of her mother. She is so disappointing, and starts crying. She tells her grandmother that “soon” is a long time. Next day, grandmother takes Lili to look for the yellow hat, and finally she is very happy to finds her mother comes back with the yellow hat.

This is a separation anxiety story with a happy ending. It is good for children 3-5 year old to read. Children often feel scared when people who usually take care of them have to leave them a period of time. In the story, children can find the experiences their own. They probably have the same ideas with Lili; they think that the people who are stay with them every day, especially their parents will not back any more when they leave, then they will become very anxiety and start to cry. This book makes children feel better when the story goes to ending that mother tells Lili that she is always back home for Lili. This ending show that people who are usually take care of children always misses them, and loves them,

The picture of this book could be used by children to learn “yellow” color. Moreover, the size of this book is big enough for children to see clear. Although the story is simple, it happens in children’s life quite often. So children probably like it since they are familiar with this situation. The plots of finding the yellow hat could attract children to read continue.

Presentation ways:

1) Felt board: using felt board, and cut the main objects which are Lili, mother, grandmother, ferry, and two yellow hats.

2) Storytelling: I am plan to tell the story, and stop at every time when Lili try to find the yellow things which she thinks that is her mother’s yellow hat.

3) Story show: following the plots of the story, children can act mother, Lili, grandmother, and other different yellow objects.

Extension:

1) Lili’s story is a good example when parents send their children to go to school, and parents can use this story comfort their children that parents will back soon; parents will never abandon their children, and encourage them doing something alone when parents are not stay with them.

2) Using proper music describe the plots to make the story more vivid. Children could feel Lili’s emotion stronger.

3) Asking them questions. For example: if they have any familiar things happened before? What did they deal with these things before? Do you try often? And then, encourage them be strong when they cannot be stay they their parents, even they cannot back any more.