THE
MOST THANKFUL THING
By Lisa McCourt
Illustrated by Cyd Moore
Scholastic Publishers
www.scholastic.com
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Mama
is thankful for many things, but what in her life is she most thankful
for? It must be something really amazing – better than acting
in the school play . . . more exciting than going to the prom . .
. more important than getting her first job – because Mama insists
that her real-life most thankful thing can top them all. Sure to spark
curious questions from children, The Most Thankful Thing confirms
for young readers what’s most precious in every mother’s
heart.
From
School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-After a mother tells her daughter that she's
remembering everything she has to be thankful for, the child pulls
out Mama's scrapbook and asks, "-what are you the very most thankful
for?" The ensuing story follows the two as they page through
the woman's memories. The girl expects each entry to be Mama's most
thankful thing-a camp experience, winning a soccer trophy, her first
job, getting married-and Mama's refrained response is that it wasn't
her most thankful thing. Ultimately, Mama describes holding her child
for the first time, saying, "-forevermore you would be my most
thankful thing." The comical captions on the cartoon-style "photographs"
appear in handwritten lettering to fit the scrapbook layout. The warm
words and pastel illustrations are playful representations of a child,
teen, and young woman's memories. This is a wonderful, reassuring
read-aloud for storytime and for individual sharing.
Deborah Rothaug, Pasadena Elementary School, Plainview, NY
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 1. The girl who narrates this breezy picture book tries to
guess what her mother is most thankful for in her "whole long,
long, long life." Leafing through a big scrapbook, she stops
to consider the possibilities as Mama reminisces about the high points
in her past. The pictures show her at summer camp, on a soccer team,
on stage, at her prom, in a college musical, at her first job, and
in her wedding. The child is heartened to discover her mother's "most
thankful thing." What might have been a sticky-sweet ending is
kept palatable and reassuring in a child-centered way thanks to the
light touch used by 
McCourt
and Moore, who previously collaborated on I Love You, Stinky Face
(1997) and several other books. The use of a black background on the
scrapbook pages is an effective device, setting the photos apart from
the other scenes, nicely reinforcing the notion that mothers have
lives before parenthood, sure to be a new idea for some children.
Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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