Always Your Stepmom

by Stephanie Stansbie, Tatiana Kamshilina (Illustrator)

Overview

A heartwarming picture book about the unique bond between a stepmother and her stepchild.

I’ll always remember the day that we met.
We were both so uncertain and shy.

The special relationship of stepmoms and stepkids is celebrated in this gentle and loving tribute to blended families. Showing joy-filled scenes of family life and milestones, this book is ideal for every child of a loving stepmother. It's the perfect way to say: "If I had been there when you learned your first words, I could never have cherished you more."

Also available: Always Your Stepdad

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593709139
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	04/09/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.60(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

STEPHANIE STANSBIE has been a children’s book editor for more than twenty years, and an author for the last ten. She adores editing and writing in equal measure and has always worked on illustrated books, where the art is as important as the word. Stephanie lost her dad when she was one but gained a brilliant new one at the age of five. Always Your Stepdad and Always your Stepmom were inspired by their relationship. She lives in Oxford, England, and enjoys sewing, dancing and goofing about with her family. Follow her on Instagram at @stephstansbie.

TATIANA KAMSHILINA is an illustrator and animator based in Russia. Her work is often inspired by nature, animals, everyday life, dreams, and folklore. She mostly works digitally, using textures from traditional materials. See more of her work on Instagram at @tatianakawkaw.

Editorial Reviews

"A heartfelt reminder that patience and openness are crucial when families welcome new members."—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2024-02-03
Being a new stepmom has its awkward moments, but it’s also a deeply rewarding experience.

A woman begins a new relationship and works to establish a bond with her partner’s young child. Although the child’s primary parent is introduced in a crayon drawing early on and appears throughout, the focus is on the stepmother and child’s developing relationship. The primary parent’s presence is more noticeable once the stepmother and little one become a team and the new family blends together. Realistic illustrations anchor the story’s milestones, starting and ending with the child’s fifth and sixth birthday parties. Smaller images, formatted like photos in a scrapbook, capture day-to-day life, from campouts to making paper airplanes. In contrast, the crayon art accompanying the rhymed text and gracing the endpapers is probably too sophisticated to be made by a 5- or 6-year-old, but it does add a playful sense of the child’s interpretation of events. Everything leads up to an “I’ll love you forever” moment and an acknowledgment of how having the child in her life has changed the stepmother. The stepmother presents white, while the child and the primary parent present Black.

A heartfelt reminder that patience and openness are crucial when families welcome new members. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews