Because I’m Your Mom

This picture book from the creators of Because I’m Your Dad follows up that volume’s mischievous escapades with this portrait of a monster-styled mother who’s equally game for good times. “Because I’m your mom, you can have nachos for breakfast, pancakes for dinner, and Popsicles in the shower,” begins Zappa’s fun-centric litany of activities. Other high-flying hijinks involve interactions with “cosmic-powered, smushy-faced puppicorns,” skipping the child’s piano lesson to skateboard at the beach, and jetting off to Switzerland and Egypt. In Santat’s signature illustration style, chartreuse, magenta-haired Mom and her turquoise offspring dance, hug, and grin across the pages, alongside humans portrayed with various skin tones. And as the book winds down, Mom also promises to kiss owies, read books, and make wishes. Altogether, it’s a lively accounting of a parent’s promises that subverts typical sentiments around the titular phrase. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)