This Quiet Lady Book

What was your mother like as a little girl? How did she look in school? What did she do before you were born? Follow along as one girl joyously searches through old pictures to find out. Generations will be inspired to share family history as they treasure this book together.

Publishers Weekly

One of the most amazing discoveries a child makes is learning that their parents led a completely different life before their offspring came along. In this sensitive picture book, a girl winds her way through the house pointing out photographs of her mother at the various stages in her life: ``This young lady laughing with those boys is my mother,'' or ``This bride like a white flower is my mother.'' Zolotow's deceptively plain text manages to speak volumes when paired with Lobel's tender watercolor and gouache paintings. Much like a family album, the story spans one generation and flows smoothly into the next when the girl says proudly, ``And here is where I begin.'' Each spread features a small, dark-toned painting that shows the young narrator while the facing page offers a richly colored painting of her smiling, dark-haired mother, sporting the appropriate period dress and hairstyle. An excellent choice for quiet mother-child sharing, this book speaks beyond its seeming slightness--and is sure to invite geneaology lessons filled with fond memories. Ages 3-up. (May)