Christian author Karen Kingsbury is best known for her romantic suspense. I greatly enjoyed her novel “One Tuesday Morning,” about the bombing of the World Trade Center, and also “Like Dandelion Dust.” Would I like her children’s picture books? “Let’s Go on a Mommy Date” is not her first picture book to be published, but it’s the first one I’ve read. How would she transition, in my mind, from writing for adults to writing for children? The answer – very well.
The children are lounging around in the living room, glued to the television screen. Mommy decides they need an outing, and suggests that they go to the zoo. “Let’s go on a mommy date!” she suggests, and they head out the door. They see zebras and crocodiles, monkeys and bears. The lions are especially exciting.
But if the animals are tired and decide to go to sleep, they can go to the park instead. They can go on the swings, chase each other around, climb the trees, and even swing on the monkey bars like the animals in the zoo.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate, they can go to the circus instead. They’ll have fun watching the trapeze artists, and the elephants, and the clowns. They can watch the jugglers fling fire back and forth.
And, if by chance they arrive too late and the circus has already gone, they can visit a farm instead. They can learn about milking a cow and harvesting vegetables.
It really doesn’t matter where they go or what they do. The important thing is that they’re together, spending quality time with each other, and enjoying life as a family.
The great text is accompanied by darling illustrations. This is a beautifully packaged book and I can’t wait to see what Karen Kingsbury delights us with next.
(This book was published in 2008 by ZonderKids and was illustrated by Dan Andreasen.)
Also by Karen Kingsbury: