Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit.

When I change I change fast. The moon drags the whatever-it-is up from the earth and it goes through me with crazy wriggling impatience . . . I’m twisted, torn, churned, throttled—then rushed through a blind chicane into ludicrous power . . . A heel settles. A last canine hurries through. A shoulder blade pops. The woman is a werewolf.
 
The woman is Talulla Demetriou.
She’s grieving for her werewolf lover,...

As a child explains the many happy, loving things Mommy does, many different animal mothers are shown caring for their young. On board pages.

A loving mother counts the hugs she gives her baby throughout the day. Ob board pages.

A grumpy little kangaroo is having a bad day until his mother finds a way to make him smile.

Two children describe the wonderful times they have with their mother doing such things as playing in the park, telling stories, and going to the zoo.

At bedtime just before falling asleep, Little Mouse comes to realize that the best place for him to be is at home with his mother.

Presents a free-verse tribute to the love between a mother and her child.

When his mother says "No!, " a young boy thinks of all the wonderful things he could do if he sent her to the moon, but then he realizes he wants her around, especially to read bedtime stories.