As we celebrate Mother's Day, bookseller Sasha James recommends the books that got her through the first two years as a new mum. A perfect combination of practical advice, timely reassurance and the ideal read to remind you that, however bad it gets, it could be much, much worse...

Isn’t Mum fantastic? Show your appreciation and have the chance to win a £20 Waterstones Gift Card.

Bookseller Martha Greengrass has a wonderful mother so, she wonders, why do mums in children’s books often get such a bad rap?

Victoria Young has just edited a collection of articles looking at the truth behind motherhood. No more are the beautiful stories of being a 'natural mum' or tales of a perfect, child-filled existence. Sometimes, as Victoria writes below, being a mum is about doing your own thing, no matter how imperfect that may seem.

It's Mother's Day! So it's time to get some flowers! Or chocolates! Or perfume! Or all the other things that every mum in the world likes! Because women like flowers and men like football and there's no room for anybody in between. But, on the million to one chance that your mother, or any other woman in your life, has an interest in history or politics or music or all those other topics that everybody knows only interest men, we've put together a selection of possible presents for your mum. N.B. The above statement may contain irony.

Mother's Day is around the corner, and many of us are already thinking of ways to spoil our mums. But, what if your relationship with your mother is problematic - or even non-existent? Novelist Koren Zailckas looks at her relationship with her own mother, and defines the characteristics of a bad mum...