When did the yummy mummy army take over children's books?

Shirley Hughes

One of my parenting new year resolutions was to read more books to my children. In the library this week I was struck by the extent to which the yummy mummy army has crept into children's literature.  My 4yo kept bringing me books full of glamorous foxy mums in floaty skirts, heels and flicked out glossy manes. No she hadn't picked up a copy of Vogue by mistake (Maybe though, she is trying to tell me something?  I reckon I scrub up ok when I need to, but I am far from being impeccably groomed in my day to day role of mum)

I looked at the books, looked round the library and laughed, no mum wears that kind of gear in the company of small children.  Unless it's a wedding, when you spend the whole day hissing 'don't you dare touch me with those sticky fingers'. Or you're a celebrity with a nanny and stylist in tow.

Anyway it made me all nostalgic for the mums of my late 70s/early 80s upbringing.  My own mum.  The mums of Shirley Hughes. The jeans and jumpers and let's go and get mucky in the garden and make crap cupcakes brigade. Rather than the let's go to the cafe and wear a pink dress, while I sip a cappuchino and nibble at an artisan cupcake brigade.  There are enough pressures to be a yummy mummy in the media, keep this out of children's books please.

On the flip side, my son loves Judith Kerr's The Tiger that Came to Tea which is a time honoured classic, but not a wonderful representation of the liberated woman. Sophie's mum defers all decisions to Sophie's Dad after she lets a tiger into the family home, panics she has nothing for Dad's tea and even lets Dad drink all the beer.  But I don't think lounging on a chaise lounge in a pink dress and reading interior decorating magazines (seriously this is what one mum was doing in a book we read) is any more aspirational either (although maybe a nice way to spend 10 mins if you can organise it).

Representations make a huge difference to groups in society. So I am recommending a book with a powerful Mum role model:

My Mum by Anthony Browne.  His My Dad is good too.

Any other recommendations?