Mommy Loves You

Some mommies have to go away... No matter why, or where, or for how long a mommy might have to leave, every child should always know: Mommy Loves You!

Author and illustrator Lois Kim has always turned to drawing as a source of comfort, even as a child herself. During her incarceration at the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua, her passion for art became a lifeline. Through Haku Mo‘olelo, a program offered by the prison in partnership with Read to Me International, she was able to produce Mommy Loves You.

The story and its accompanying illustrations provided her with an outlet to combat her loneliness and a way to tell her children that her absence was not their fault, and that her love for them, above all things, endured. The universal message of maternal love emphasizes to children that no matter the reason for their mother’s absence, whether it be work, illness, incarceration or even something as simple as “me time,” there should never be any doubt: Mommy Loves You.

Lois Kim is a first generation Korean-American who graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance. She currently resides in Honolulu and continues to work toward her goal of rebuilding her family. Lois is a graduate of the YWCA O‘ahu’s Ka Hale Ho‘ala Hou No Na Wahine (“The House of Reawakening for Women”) program at Fernhurst. With the support of YWCA O‘ahu, Lois was able to reunite with her daughter and turn her dream of publishing Mommy Loves You into a reality.