Small Readers: Where is Mommy? by Pat Cummings

I've been faithfully purchasing Holiday House's I Like To Read titles, since they're one of the few easy reader series to offer titles in the A-E guided reading levels, but I have mixed feelings about some of them.

This one is a level D, so a little more complex. The pictures are pleasant, but the story is kind of bland. The endpages show a black girl curled up on the couch with her mother and the cat, reading together. Then the title page shows the girl alone, waking up from her nap, the cat still sleeping on her lap. She grabs the cat who makes a dive for the coffee, then wonders "Where is Mommy?" The rest of the story shows her looking for her mother, while glimpses through the window and various clues show that she's in the garden. Eventually, just as Mommy returns with a basket of kale, she figures out where Mommy has been.

The art is simple and colorful and it's nice to see a black mother and daughter enjoying reading and gardening together, but the girl is nearly as tall as her mother. She has to be at least seven but her behavior is more suitable to a preschooler.

Verdict: While this isn't my favorite, it's a good choice for very young children who are learning to read and the simple art will let them concentrate on the words while still following the clues to solve the mystery.

ISBN: 9780823439355; Published November 2019 by Holiday House; Purchased for the library