Montana's Memory Day: a nature-themed foster/adoption story

by Sue Lawrence

Overview

Montana is a thinker and a rememberer, and tomorrow is his Memory Day.

He used to be a foster kid, but now he lives with New Mom, who adopted him.
There’s a differentness about this mom—she’s like a steady stream that gurgles.
But Montana is still adjusting to his place in this family and life on a farm in the middle of winter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645434603
Publisher:	Mascot Books
Publication date:	11/05/2021
Pages:	38
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sue Lawrence is a Montanan with a southern accent. After working 40+ years as a Registered Nurse in America’s deep south, she drove from Alabama to Billings, MT to attend college, again. This time she majored in English: Creative Writing and lived and learned alongside peers 40 years her junior. Her debut children’s picture book—Montana’s Memory Day: a nature-themed foster/adoption story, illustrated by Erika Wilson—originated in one of her Rocky Mountain College courses, and it’s a direct result of her love for this scenic state she now calls “home.” You can connect with Sue on Instagram (@kidlitconnection and @montanaexplorer) and via her author website, https://kidlitconnection.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2021-08-16
A boy thinks about life with “New Mom” as they celebrate and remember his adoption day in a picture book about family and belonging.

Montana used to move around a lot, changing houses and living with different families. Now, New Mom is a constant in the youngster’s life. She teaches him how to help out on her farm, spends time showing him how to whittle, and wakes him early for nature walks. Together, they spend Montana’s Memory Day—the anniversary of his adoption—sharing a love of nature; when they encounter a track in the snow that Montana thinks belongs to a wolf, New Mom assures him it’s from a coyote: “But don’t worry—there’s room here for all of us,” she says. Lawrence’s simple language and calm phrases are soothing; her creative word forms (rememberer, differentness) give a lyrical feel to Montana’s first-person narrative. The prominence of whittling and carving is reflected in Wilson’s beautiful wood-block images whose subdued colors emphasize the winter setting; notes at the end give readers an insider’s look into the illustration process. A nature theme abounds, but it’s the striking closeness between Montana and New Mom that will stick with readers in this warm-blanket bedtime story.

Readers in birth families or found families will appreciate this tale of parent-child connection.

Kirkus Reviews