LIFE WITH MOTHER

LIFE WITH MOTHER By the Editors of Life Magazine With an Introduction by Katie Couric (Little Brown, $14.95) Skip the intro by perfect Katie Couric about her perfect mom, but not the rest of this book: 80 photos of mothers and mothers-to-be culled from the 59-year-old archives of Life. Here are pics of big and little stars (Lee Remick cradling her infant Kate; the famed shot of Shirley MacLaine and daughter Sachi posing with pearls) and regular folks emblematic of their times (a phalanx of moms with strollers meeting diaper-service vans in 1958; a soldier mom kissing her baby goodbye before shipping off to war in 1990). Poignant without being corny, it's a fine gift for that Hallmark holiday that purports to celebrate the female parent -- oh, you know the one we mean. B+ -- Erica K. Cardozo