Description

A warm mommy and me picture book where two siblings discover that helping together is better than magic when Mommy wishes for eight arms to do everything at once.

“One pair to help you get dressed. One pair to bathe Bala and get him ready for school. One pair to feed the baby. And the last pair to cook and clean the house—all at the same time.” Mommy’s Many Arms is a children’s picture book for ages 3–8 about a busy mother who jokes that she wishes she were a spider or an octopus so she could have enough arms for everything she does in a day. As Mommy talks about getting Mina dressed, bathing Bala, feeding the baby, cooking, and cleaning, Mina turns her wish into a game of “magic time,” using a pencil as a wand to transform Mommy into “Mommy Spider” or “Mommy Octopus.” Bala joins in as “Boy Spider,” and their imaginative play slowly shifts into real help as the children decide to tidy toys and pitch in, just as they once helped Mommy bake a Christmas cake. Set during an ordinary day in the familiar spaces of a family home, this warm, humorous story shows how children’s small acts of help can make a big difference. Through playful scenes and simple, repetitive dialogue, Mommy’s Many Arms opens up gentle conversations about chores, empathy, responsibility, and the many ways families work together.

About the author(s)

Priscilla Okoye is a Nigerian poet and writer whose work explores migration, memory, identity, belonging, and the ways people carry home with them. Her poetry draws on cultural memory, personal experience, and the stories held within ordinary objects, places, language, and traditions. Her poems have been published in The Other Side of Hope, the UK's first Literary Magazine of Sanctuary, and The Literary Platform. Alongside her writing, she works with migrant and refugee women and communities. She is also the author of Mommy's Many Arms, her debut children's picture book.

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