So, I've been on a hunt for single-mama-friendly books. I have posts here and here about this topic, and there are suggestions in the comments on both posts. Below I have compiled a list of the ones that I have gotten that work for us, as well as others that have been suggested. It's hard to decide if a book will be good for your family without seeing it first, and what works for answering questions for one family isn't going to work for another. Still, this topic stirred up some discussion here and on other blogs, so I thought I'd put the list together.
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These are books that I have purchased or otherwise read. Other recommendations appear in lists at the bottom.
Books with a positive human Single Mama figure:
Love You Forever
Books with singular gender-neutral or female animals as a single parent figures:
Oh My Baby Little One
When Mama Comes Home Tonight
Snuggle Puppy
Mommy Loves
Mama Mama
Is Your Mama a Llama?
Books with both animal and human single mothers portrayed:
Time For Bed (animal-baby pairs and the final panel is a human mother with her child)
I Love my Mommie Because ... (animal-baby pairs and the first page and final panel is a human mother with her child - shows an African American mother-child pair as well as a Eurocentric mother-child pair.)
I Love You As Much (animal-baby pairs, and shows a co-sleeping human mother and baby pair on the final page)
The Family Book and The Mommy Book by Todd Parr (if you count cartoon portrayals as "human")
Books with a working Mama theme:
When Mama Comes Home Tonight
Oh My Baby, Little One (I adore this book. The one above is also very nice, but this one just sings to me in its rhyme.)
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(in the lists below I copied the original lists and linked to the source. There is some duplication because of this - I think it's helpful to see what is recommended more than once!)
Books recommended by Cat:
Hush Little Dragon
Love You Forever
Mama Mama
Mama's Right Here
My Mother Is Mine
Snuggle Up Sleepy Ones
I Love You Mommy
Snuggle Puppy
The Adventures of Little Wombat
Two To Cuddle
Mommy's Best Kisses
Books recommended by Single Mom Seeking and her commenters:
Love Is A Family
A Chair For My Mother
Mama, I'll Give You The World
My Mom Is The Best Mom
Good Dog, Carl
Horton Hatches The Egg
Books recommended by my commenters:
What Do You Love
Hug
Time For Sleep
Are You My Mother
Do I Have a Daddy: A Story About a Single-Parent Child with a Special Section for Single Mothers and Fathers
When Mama Comes Home Tonight
Horton Hatches the Egg
Good Dog, Carl
Hush, Little Dragon
Mama, Mama
Mama's Right Here
Snuggle Puppy
The Adventures of Little Wombat
Two to Cuddle
Mommy's Best Kisses
Stellaluna
Where the Wild Things Are
Mother's Lap
Coming to Tea
Lola at the Library
Is Your Mama a Llama, Llama Llama Red Pajamas and the rest of the series
Mama Loves Me
I Love You Because You're You
Goodnight Little Pookie
I Love You Stinky Face
How Will We Get to the Beach?
Because You Are My Baby
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Added 1/10/11: Parenting Single Mama blogger @JDSMOM has a post up about Horton Hatches An Egg. She's promising a whole list of single-parent-friendly books soon.
