At bedtime, a little llama worries after his mother puts him to bed and goes downstairs.

A lot of babies' first words were Dada. However, everything after that was Mama. Readers take a look from a baby's point of view as different animals try to teach their children that there are other words in addition to Mama for familiar objects and activities.

The world has changed around seventy-nine-year-old librarian Millicent Carmichael, aka Missy. Though quick to admit that she often found her roles as a housewife and mother less than satisfying, Missy once led a bustling life driven by two children, an accomplished and celebrated husband, and a Classics degree from Cambridge. Now her husband is gone, her daughter is estranged after a shattering argument, and her son has moved to his wife's native...