Mom Left Dirty Dishes in the Sink

Mom Left Dirty Dishes in the Sink is about a girl named Camille who wants to know if her mom can have fun. She watches her mom doing lots of “mom” things, like chasing after her kids to put on their clothes in the morning, going to meetings, meeting friends for coffee, and going to bed early with a headache. Camille’s dad is already fun. He owns a printing company and lets Camille and her brother play with the rolls and act like pirates. He also got Camille a confetti cannon for her birthday. Their dad plays games and wrestles with them, while their mom is busy cleaning or baking.

Throughout the story, Camille feels bad for her mom because what her mom is doing does not look like fun. Every couple of pages Camille gives examples of what she and her brother like to do for fun, and then she compares them to what their mom is doing. One day she goes to look for her brother but finds her mom sitting in a chair. Her mom gives her a necklace that Camille remembers seeing in her box of special things. After giving Camille the necklace, her mom becomes fun.

My favorite part is when her mom gives them Cinnamon Toast Crunch because I like it and my mom makes it for me, too. My other favorite part is with the confetti canon, because I like confetti, and it looks like fun. The dad in the story reminds me of my dad some of the time, but mine doesn’t always have a lot of time to play. The mom reminds me of my mom, mostly after the mom becomes fun because my mom lets me have fun and doesn’t get too worried about stuff being perfect around the house.

I can relate to Camille because we look to maybe be about the same age, and I like to have fun with my siblings like she does with her brother. I felt bad for Camille at the beginning of the story because her mom doesn’t take time to play with her, but at the end, I felt happy for her because her mom seems to figure out how to have fun and will play with her son and daughter more. I think this book will be enjoyed by kids starting at age five because they will be able to understand it by then, and anyone older will like it too.