Happy Mother's Day to mums, step-mums, grandmas and all who fill a motherly role. We have a lovely collection of children's books that celebrate mums and all the great things they do.

Board books for the youngest readers on Mother's Day

New to the Usborne Huggy Books range, Mummies Love Hugs by Lara Bryan and Asa Gilland, is published in time for Mother's Day. We all know that mummies love hugs, and in this clever board book, little fingers can turn the specially shaped page and actually see mummy getting a great big hug too! 

There’s more lovely fun to be had with mum in Little Fish and Mummy, a gorgeous, shaped board book by the inimitable Lucy Cousins. Little Fish describes a day out with Mummy Fish and the fun they have playing games and learning new things. Each page is bright, bold and colourful, Cousins’ distinctive artwork is always eye-catching and full of things for the very young to spot, count and name. And it all ends, as the best days do, with a big kiss.

Picture Books to share on Mother's Day

Best-selling and glorious Guess How Much I Love You has delighted children – and adults - for a quarter of a century, selling over 50 million copies. Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare want to tell each other just how much they love each other. To the moon and back! On the enduring popularity of his picture book the late Sam McBratney said “The choreography of the words is echoed in the drawings, they complement each other so well.  There was a good deal of thought put into the design of the book, too,” he says. “When you turn that first page and Big Nut and Little Nut are looking out at you, then they take off on their journey. It’s a little masterpiece in that way.” 

Amazing Mum by Alison Brown is part of the family of Amazing picture books. In gorgeous illustrations and fun rhyming text we see that amazing mums are all around! They are chatty, practical, funny, sporty . . . and everything between. Mums find your lost treasures. They celebrate your achievements and they love us no matter what.

Grandmas need celebrating on Mother's Day too!

When I Became Your Granny by Susannah Shane and illustrated by the sublime art of Britta Teckentrup, is a picture book depiction of a day in the life of a big and small panda provides an opportunity to describe the very special relationship between grandmother and grandchild. The sentiment is one of love and tenderness, with a final, reassuring reminder of just how much Granny loves her grandchild.

Making Mother's Day special

There can’t be a mum in the country who doesn’t identify with Mrs Large, wrapped in her comfortable dressing gown, doing her best to get away from her children for just five minutes peace (and managing a scant three minutes forty-five seconds)! It is almost 40 years since Five Minutes' Peace by Jill Murphy was first published and it’s just as funny, accurate and real a portrait of family life as it was when it first came out.

The two children in Mummy's Special Day by Frances Stickley and Carolina Rabei are full of the very best intentions to thank their Mummy for all the ways she looks after them. They think of the things that Mummy loves – chocolates, homemade cakes, flowers and some special make up. But somehow, everything goes a little bit wrong! Luckily, what Mummy enjoys best is spending time with her little ones (though she probably would still like some chocolates).

Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday, is an annual celebration honouring our mums, motherhood and the influence of mothers in society. In Europe it is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent and this year falls on the Sunday 30th March.

Read on for our collection of picture books and cute board books to share this Mother's Day.

And if you are looking for some gift ideas head over to our sister site, LoveReading, to find 65 Great Books for Mother's Day.