Title: Mom Had a Problem
Author: Cynthia Gadson
Illustrator: Maurice Lindsey
Publisher: Pageturner, Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1649083326
Genre: Children’s Books
Pages: 32
Reviewed by: Barbara Bamberger Scott
Hollywood Book Reviews
In this colorful, teachable story, three daughters are riled to the point of exploding when their mother gives them cookies. What’s wrong? Author Cynthia Gadson has the answer.
Mom has “three inquisitive daughters”: Tina, Nina, and Tiny. The initials T.N.T. become significant when Mom decides to bake cookies for them. She counts out 15 delicious chocolate cookies, and for some reason the numbers 4, 5, and 6 come into her mind, so she gives 4 cookies to Tina, 5 to Nina, and 6 to Tiny. That’s when the T.N.T. explosion happens, and Mom’s problem starts. The next day, hoping to resolve the issue, she bakes 15 more cookies. This time, the numbers in her head are 6, 5 and 4, so she gives Tina 6 cookies, Nina 5, and Tiny 4. What a mistake! T.N.T. explodes again, the girls fighting and shouting. Trying yet again, Mom makes another batch of cookies and hands them out on the basis of 5, 6, and 4. When the girls start wrestling and pulling each other’s hair, Mom is ready to give up. All night she thinks about what happened, tossing and turning and hoping for a solution. It comes when she remembers some things she learned in school. A nice set of special plates and some arithmetic guarantee that she’s now succeeded in solving her problem, and the “explosion” that follows is one of happiness and love.
Gadson is a missionary with a calling to guide and teach children. Her story is followed by questions for the book’s audience, and then by short, readily understandable answers. The reader or student is asked to retell the story, and suggest its central message. The illustrations by Maurice Lindsey enliven the text with simple, amusing cartoon settings and characters.
Gadson’s Mom Had a Problem is as much a “read to” for parents or teachers to help children understand Mom’s basic dilemma and how to solve it, as it is a readable story for older children, examining some typical family issues and basic arithmetic as subjects for further exploration.