It's a Mom! - Abby Cooper - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Abby Cooper
ILLUSTRATOR: Eliana Gutiérrez
GENRE: Humour
PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026
RATING: 4.5 stars.


In a Nutshell: A clever satirical picture book speaking to babies and toddlers about how to take care of their new moms. 😉 Absolutely loved the concept and the implementation. The satire is excellent, as is the strong tone of empathy. Much recommended to all moms-to-be and new moms.


The title was enough to get me to grab this book. With the twist on the usual “It’s a Boy/Girl”, “It’s a Mom” made me curious to see the content. Turns out, it is a care package for new mommies wrapped in a lot of satire. What fun! I enjoyed the concept as well as the execution.

The text is directed at kiddos aged 2 to 5 (wink, wink!) and is a guide on how to take care of their new moms (more exuberant winking!). Thus it offers advice about essentials such how to help moms stay awake at night, how to ensure that moms have a wash during your bath time, how to allow her tummy time, and so on. The whole role-reversal is so tongue-in-cheek and yet so relatable! A part of me is relieved those days are behind me, but I also felt nostalgic for those days of early parenthood.

I am sure new moms will have a laugh reading this book, and moms-to-be will hopefully get an idea of what’s to come. The fact that it is addressed to babies makes the whole experience even more hilarious. But what I appreciate even more that the book also focusses on the downside of motherhood. The crying, the frustration, the tiredness – all are included with a strong supportive attitude of “You Got this, Mom!” It makes all moms feel seen and united in their struggles.

The illustrations are perfect for the tone of the book. I love how the cover shows moms of various features. The inside content is equally inclusive, highlighting how we all share the same experience as new moms. The colours are bright and exuberant, and the characters are adorable!

One thing that struck me about the cover is the question asked by one of the moms: “Are we doing this right?” As we experienced moms know, this question has no answer even when the kids aren’t babies; you will be doubting your mom skills until they are well into adulthood. So might as well not overthink it.

Need another reason to support this book? The author is from Minnesota (IYKYK) and runs a non-profit that ships high-quality children’s books to local families free of cost.

Definitely recommended to all babies so that they know how to guide their new moms into the first couple of years of motherhood! This unique book would be an excellent gift for baby showers, new moms, and first Mother’s Day. I bet all moms will find themselves smiling and nodding as they read this book. It will also give a laugh to little readers once they are old enough to comprehend the books they listen to.

My thanks to Charlesbridge for providing the DRC of “It's a Mom!” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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