Peter Glassman (1)Critiques

My working mom is a witch! This was a halloween-themed working-mom-pride book. A fun change to the more didactic sorts of entries in this genre.

Badger and Fox seek to find the treasure at the end of the rainbow. Along the way they will find that there is more than one definition to the word treasure. This picture book was sweet and sweetly illustrated.

The main character in this book uses his imagination to try and figure out what his dads job is like. Everyday his dad comes home from work he mentions things that happened at work and they sound so fun to the son. The little boy ask his siblings and his mother but they think what he is imagining is completely wrong. One day he finally ask his dad to go to work with him and as they walk in it looks like a boring job until they open the doors and it turns into a dream land for the kid. The illustrator uses a pull to open page as you are opening the doors which I thought was really cool. I don't think anyone's parents job would be like this but this is a fun imaginative book. At the end of the book it gives you information about phrases that are used in the stock markets.

This is such a cute book, the characters are super likable and it is a very easy read for a bedtime story. I absolutely love the magical illustrations they are full of detail and magical creatures that defiantly sparked my little girls imagination.

A young boy tries to imagine what his father's job is like in this engaging picture-book from author Peter Glassman** and illustrator Timothy Bush, interpreting various statements - that his father works on a team, that his company is fighting off a hostile takeover, that the bulls and the bears are giving everyone a headache - in the most fantastic way possible. His elder siblings and mother each assure him that it isn't what he thinks, but he decides to keep an open mind until he has a chance to see for himself...

The second picture-book I have read from Glassman, following upon his magical My Working Mom, about a mother who is a witch, My Dad's Job is a humorous exploration of a father's work life, as seen from the perspective of his young son. I appreciated the seeming disconnect between the boy's perception of his father's words - when he hears "raiders," for example, he thinks of Viking-style warriors - and the more mundane office reality. I also appreciated the fact that the narrative sets the reader up to think that they know how that disconnect will be resolved, only to pull the carpet out from under their feet. This was a fun, amusing tale, and one of the few picture-books that I have read of late that addresses a parent's professional life. The artwork by Bush, done in watercolor, captures the humor of the story quite well. All in all, an entertaining tale, one I would recommend to readers who have also enjoyed Mr. Glassman's prior picture-books, as well as to anyone looking for children's stories addressing the difference between figurative and literal language and/or the working lives of parents.

**Full Disclosure: I am acquainted with Mr. Glassman, with whom I have worked in a professional capacity.

A young boy describes his working mother's witchy activities in this magical picture-book from author Peter Glassman** and illustrator Tedd Arnold. From potion-making to broom-flying, this witch keeps busy - but not so busy that she doesn't have time to be fully involved in her son's life, whether that be creating a very special birthday party, or cheering him on at his soccer matches. Although the boy sometimes wishes his mother didn't work, in the end he loves her just as she is.

As someone with an interest in witches in picture-books and early-readers - my "witchy-witches" project is a particular pleasure, and I try to read everything in the genre - I found My Working Mom quite entertaining. I appreciated the way that the narrative handles the issue of a child's sometimes conflicted feelings about his mother's working life - on the one hand he resents it, because it takes her away from him, but on the other hand he is proud of her accomplishments - without demonizing the mother or condemning the child. These feelings are natural, but Glassman's text leads children to consider the positives of having a working mom, all while presenting quite a magical tale. I also appreciated the fact that quite a bit of the humor here rests on the relationship between word and image, as nothing in the text ever explicitly ties the mother to witchcraft. That is left to the Arnold's colorful artwork, which has an engaging, cartoon-like style, and a zany sense of humor. Recommended to anyone looking for witchy picture-books, or for stories about children and their working moms.

**Full Disclosure: I am acquainted with Mr. Glassman, with whom I have worked in a professional capacity. Not as a witch, though...

My working mom is a witch! This was a halloween-themed working-mom-pride book. A fun change to the more didactic sorts of entries in this genre.

Great for career day. A child's prospective on his father's career based on the comments he makes about work after a long day. This book shows just how important it is for children to understand what it is that their parents do for a living.

As a working mom, I sought out books about working parents for my child... having the mom be a witch is a bonus with this one ;)

This book is about a boy who is curious to find out what his dad does at his job. He overhears his father talking to his mother about his job and the boy becomes curious and imagines how great his dads job really is. One day the little boy asks to go to work with his dad and it turns out that his dads job was everything he thought it was.

Grades 1-2. A young boy wonders what his dad's job is actually like. He takes things his dad says (figuratively) about work, and imagines them (literally) in exciting ways. For example, his father said his company was "fighting a hostile takeover." The illustration shows the dad (in office attire) wielding a sword and fighting off raiders in front of a castle. Dad made a comment about the "bulls and bears" at work, so the boy imagines bulls and bears running wild in the office. Finally, he decides its absolutely necessary to see his dad's workplace for himself. Dad brings there the next day. At first, the office seems boring, but when he opens the big doors, he sees its everything he thought and imagined it was. This is a fun little book about a boy's curiosity and wild imagination. In the back there's a glossary of words children might not know, like raiders, bull market, bear market, etc.
Uses in classroom:
-read aloud
-family thematic unit
-discussion on careers and families
-making text-to-self connections

This charming little book is about a girl who has a working mom. Her mom's a real witch....literally. She doesn't always like her mom's job or even the fact that she works, but in the end she decides she loves her mom just the way she is, warts and all. My favorite thing about this book are the illustrations because I love Tedd Arnold, but Peter Glassman does write a good book. I think this is a cute story that many many children will relate to in today's modern working-woman world, where sometimes the moms are the breadwinners and sometimes dad's aren't in the picture at all. Also just a fun story for kids, especially at Halloween.

A little boy observes his neighbor and sees him doing magical things. No matter who he tells or what he says the man is doing, no one believes the little boy. But the man believes the little boy. This story shows how elaborate a child's imagination is and how one adult can feed the imagination (even if it involves a little lying) just to keep the creativity alive. Wonderful story!

Thirty favorite artists and writers of children's books pay homage to Oz on its one hundredth anniversary celebration in this lavishly illustrated picture book. I really enjoyed reading about how others found their way to Oz, and it was fun recognizing the work of so many of my favorite artists. My first thought when I picked this book up in Walden's was that the Oz logo on the front sure looked like Maurice Sendak's work - and it was!

Really cute picture book, especially good for kids with working moms.