Mothers & Children

Mothers in different parts of the world look different from one another. They raise their children with different expectations and customs. They feed their children different foods. But all mothers share the joy of having a bond with their children. And I believe we all want what is best for our kids.

The new National Geographic book Mothers & Children celebrates this most basic human relationship with photos of moms and their kids from all over the world. We see a mother and her daughter laughing in Suriname, a child sleeping in a sling on his mother's back in Botswana as she submerses herself in water, a mother in Iceland pushing her baby in a pram across the ice and a mom in Indiana breastfeeding her toddler while driving a farm tractor. True to National Geographic's style, all of the photos show real, everyday life -- they're not posed studio portraits -- which is the nature of motherhood, after all. I keep wanting to look at the photos again and again.

Among the rich photos are short essays on mothers as well as quotes like "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

Mothers & Children is a perfect gift book for Mother's Day or for a mom as a new-baby present.