Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me

by Cari Best, Niki Daly (Illustrator)

After taking the train downtown, Lizzie spends the day at the public library, helping her mother who is a children's librarian

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Cari Best has written many award-winning picture books, including Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and My Three Best Friends and Me, described by the New York Times as “refreshing” and “exciting.” Her most recent picture book is If I Could Drive, Mama, was described by Publishers Weekly as “a wonderful tribute to an imagination in perpetual motion.” In the Country of Queens is her first novel. Ms. Best lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Alisha Abrahams · Rating 5 out of 5]

i spent a big part of the day reading some preschoolers picture books and this was the only one that i found enjoyable to read as an adult just because the artwork is so beautiful and the story itself is so endearing!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful little gem of a book, on so many levels.

[Allison Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best picture books available about being inside a library.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

We ended up with the book because one of the kids randomly pulled it off the shelf one day when several of our "requested" books didn't come in. Looking at the title and cover, I really had no idea what it was about and it wasn't on the top of the list of "let's read this first".

It turned out to be about a mother who had to take her daughter to work with her because Grandma was sick. The mother happens to work at a library, so the whole book is about their day at work in the library. Funny, this is a theme we read a lot of in our family and really enjoy. But again, the title and cover really threw me off...

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl accompanies her mother to work one day. They take the subway, cross busy streets, stop at a store for a muffin on the way to the city library, where mom works as a children's librarian. I love this quote: "If I had Mama's job, I'd look at books all day, small them, and take home all the ones with new covers." Best is true to a child's perspective of things throughout (on the train all she can see is shoes!) It's a little dated -- using a date stamp to check out books :), but still worthwhile -- I also really like the close relationship with her mom and with the library staff.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, this story is almost a little *too* sweet. The girl's conviction that HER MOM is the very best at everything - she's "the most important person in the city" and she "gets more mail than the president", and of course she's "so smart" and "so beautiful" - while this is probably heartfelt it is also a little over the top.

I'm being overly critical, I know. It's still a good book. Just... a little overly *sweet*.

[Kristina Silverbears · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it is so unusual. It depicts a large city, has a working mother, most of the characters are adults, and it takes place at the library. Beyond that it is so rare for me to read a children's book with black characters and I was delighted to see that race was not portrayed stereotypically at all.
Lizzie is helpful, kind, and smart; characteristics I would like to encourage in my children.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title doesn't say much about what's in store for you in this book. But it was very enjoyable for me. Probably because I'm not just any librarian any more, I'm the Children's librarian like Mama. So the whole world of the library that Lizzie "works" in is one I am now entirely familiar with. And love. So while the beginning was a little slow for me, I did like the book.

[Danielle Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl that goes to work with her mom, since her grandmother is sick. She gets to see what her mom does and explore the big city!

[Christen Griego · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story of a mother and daughter taking a trip into the city. This is a great book to discuss the city and things you would see in it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it - daughter goes to work with her mama who is a children's librarian at a public library!

[Lisa Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a good book!!