Children's Publishing: New chess books explore parent-child relationships

Chess relationships between parents and children are seldom explored in childrens book publishers. But they are at the center of two new books that are very good.

"Fancy Nancy: Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day" (HarperCollins, 2010) is nice in that it focuses on the play chess online relationship between a mother and daughter.

It's Nancy's mom's birthday and to celebrate it, Nancy gives her lots of toys to play with and a spa day in the backyard. She is treating her to the full spa treatment, even putting cucumber slices on her eyes. Everything goes well until Nancy decides to fix her mom's hair, and then things go awry.

Fans of Fancy Nancy will enjoy this entry. And those who haven't come across any of her tales will likely want to discover other titles in the series. As her name suggests, Nancy likes everything that is fancy, so it's not surprising that she goes all out in creating her backyard spa. This book will resonate with mothers and daughters, especially given the dearth of chess kids books that revolve around such relationships.

Jane O'Connor has kept this series successful by not creating anything too outlandish, so children and parents can recognize something of themselves in the stories. Fancy Nancy is simply a child with an active imagination and a desire for the finer things in life.

The play chess illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser focus on the relationship between mother and daughter, as well. As the mother is subjected to Nancy's various treatments, her love of her daughter comes through her expressions. It's not the spa treatment she enjoys as much as the attention she receives from her daughter.

* No parent is evident in "Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You," (Feiwel & Friends 2010), but a parental presence is felt throughout.

Nancy Tillman narrates the story in the first person and she could either be a mother, a father, a grandparent or some other beloved relative.

The narrator reminds the child that no matter how old the child is or if the person narrating is even around, their love for them will still be there.

For children who are dealing with the loss of a parent or even a divorce, this book is an excellent source for them on how the missing parent will always be a part of their lives.

If Tillman is careful to keep the gender of the chess parent a secret, she does the same with the child in her illustrations.

The child's face often is obscured by a hat, so it could either be a boy or a girl.

The images often reflect the imagination of the child, so we see it sitting on a park bench with pandas or picking fruit from the back of a giraffe. In all the images the child is surrounded by sparkling lights, perhaps representing the spirit of a missing loved one.

Those who find this book resonating with them emotionally might want to check out Tillman's earlier works, such as "The Wonder of You: A Book for Celebrating Baby's First Year."