But - uh-oh! What's this? Baxter the dog is up for some fun. How on earth can he resist upending the pots of paint and thrusting his doggy mug through a painting of Mum?
How can he possibly leave a batch of multi-coloured popsicle sticks unchewed? No matter Jake is carefully gluing them into a photoframe, his tongue peeking studiously from his mouth.
Then it's time to upend Dad's efforts in the kitchen - and well, you can imagine . . . But it's when mum opens the door and sees the mess, that the paint splotches really hit the fan.
Who made all this mess!? she demands. Of course, Dad and the kids cry innocent . . . Who is to blame? All eyes turn to a paint-speckled, skulking dog.
Rhyming text takes kids through a hectic Mother's Day - but of course, everything rights itself in the end, in this tender peek into a family's everyday life. Billingsley's vibrant illustrations of a very naughty puppy dog - a character she fills with maximum naughtiness and charm - are something kids will adore.
Title: The Messy Mother's Day
Illustrator: Lucie Billingsley
Publisher: Lothian, $16.99 RRP
Publication Date: 10 April 2012
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780734412430
For ages: 1 - 4
Type: Picture Book
