The Brunch Shift - by Adrienne Thurman (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A beautiful story about a single mother who must take her daughter to work with her at the diner on Saturdays. To make it fun, the two spin imaginative stories--and they are the stars! A Chair for My Mother meets Last Stop on Market Street in this touching picture book about working parents.

The lazy sun peeks out from the clouds as Mama and her daughter wait for their cross-town bus. Saturdays aren't for sleeping in. Saturdays are for the egg crackin', pancake flippin', orange juicin' brunch shift. A shift Mama can't afford to miss. To pass the time, Mama and her daughter tell stories-- first, they're brave knights escaping a dragon as they hop on the bus. Later, as they do the dishes, they're digging for gold during the gold rush!

Sometimes, though, the girl imagines herself with the families in Mama's section-- cheersing with hot cocoa before they head to the park. Sometimes she wishes she had someone else's Saturday.

Here is an ode to working parents everywhere, and an ode to the magic of childhood and the power of a parent's love.

Review Quotes

★ "[A] sweetly empathetic story....Balancing honesty about a family's financial necessity with their devotion to affection and innovation, the story celebrates engineering magic in shared moments." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "A beautifully wrought celebration of making a day your own." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Beautifully composed....it's an undeniable reality for many working-class families who may look to Mama's labor-forced ingenuity to make the day sparkle." --The Bulletin

"A heartfelt celebration of a mother and child's enduring bond." --Booklist

"Parents and children will be touched by this heartfelt ode to those hardworking parents who--no matter how many hours they've spent on their feet--still find that little extra spark of energy to create magic for the children in their lives." --BookPage

About the Author

Born and raised in the suburban Midwest, Adrienne Thurman has always had a fondness for words and writing. After graduating from the University of Kansas, she pursued many passions from fashion to medicine, but all roads seemed to lead her back to writing. Adrienne writes the stories she wished would have been available to her as a younger reader. She currently lives with her young daughter in Connecticut.

Mags DeRoma is an artist and storyteller. She makes, writes, designs, draws, paints, and builds thoughtful works, many of them for a young (but discerning) audience. She lives, plays, and builds forts with her three rowdy boys (one of whom she is married to), in Venice, California. She is the author-illustrator of AWAKE and the illustrator of TO MAKE by Danielle Davis.