My Must-Have Mum by Maudie Smith

There are some really comprehensive reviews here and I agree with them. Its a lovely book with a heartwarming story. My daughter really enjoyed it and we did some fun bookish play based upon it. It's a great one to have on the bookshelf for lots of reasons.

Fun and happy story about being yourself and being special just as you are. We loved the illustration and also the inclusivity of a disabled parent. It’s a fab addition to our collection!

A quick glance at the cover and I assumed this was a book about disability - which probably shows how under-represented disabled people are in children's literature. Representation matters, and I'm so glad our children's generation are benefitting from a shift.

This isn't a book about disability. It's a book about unconditional love. And it is just beautiful.

My six year old's favourite part was when Jake and his mum found a "damp bedraggled rat". He has been chuckling away about it for days! My three year old liked "everything! I can't choose". And I think I'm with her! Though the fun and engaging illustrations do deserve a special mention.

What makes Jake's mum different is actually her love of upcycling, sharing another important message with the reader about reusing and recycling.

I loved that Jake was able to talk to his mum about his worries, something I'm sure we all hope our children are able to do, and the reassurance his mum was able to provide was worded just perfectly. The end of the story was very touching - even grumpy Mr Price had a smile on his face!

My little ones have been really enjoying this story, my other half read it with them first and ended up welling up at one particularly beautiful post. The illustrations are so full of colour and detail, my youngest spends the whole time pointing out new things they've noticed, whilst my oldest names them. It's firmly becoming a favourite in our home. I personally really like the story and and it's message, but also, for me, it's so important we have books for our little people that show a true representation of life and society, and this story does that perfectly.

My 7 year old and I really enjoyed reading this book together.

The story follows Jake and his 'musthave' mum who is not like other mums. She sees things that can be changed or upcycled and used for something else where others may see junk. After an unwelcome comment from a less than charming neighbour, Jake starts to think that the next thing his mum will change is him. He even prepares to leave by packing up his things. I think this would make a great conversation starter with little ones about how the things you say can make others feel and the need to be mindful of others feelings

My 7 year old resonated very much with Jake's Mum and said she's like me with my collection of sticks that I've collected and use for different things. One of his favourite parts was the truck of dreams.
.
I too can very much relate to Mum in the book. I'm a bit of a 'junk' collector. Not necessarily rubbish, just that some others would see things as rubbish whereas I would keep it with all the intentions of using it for something else.