Treat your mum at The Reader this Mother’s Day

Looking for local things to do with your mum in L18 and ethical gift ideas? 

The countdown to Mother’s Day is on. Here are four gift ideas from The Reader in Calderstones Park for Sunday 30 March so you can spoil the first lady in your life or sneak a wish list under your children’s or other half’s noses – and support a local Liverpool-based charity at the same time.

Every week, The Reader – the UK’s biggest Shared Reading charity – brings people together at Shared Reading groups at its home in Liverpool and across the country. Here, people connect and share experiences using stories and poems. There is no pressure to talk or read aloud. 

All profits are reinvested into The Reader’s work as a charity providing free Shared Reading groups.

Book a Mother’s Day Roast 

Treat mum to a Sunday roast where no one needs to do the cooking or washing up. It will be served in the gorgeous, restored grade II-listed Georgian-style Mansion House set against a backdrop of Calderstones Park in the Spring surrounded by daffodils and trees in bloom. Live music will soundtrack the afternoon. 

• What’s on the menu? A choice of three starters, two mains of pan chicken supreme or cauliflower steak with all the trimmings then finish off with raspberry Eton mess or chocolate caprice cake. There are mini portions for children.
• How much? £40 for three courses or £32.50 for two courses; and for children £15 for three courses or £12 for two. 
• Book a table here.

6 literary treats for mums 

Jamie Barton, Bookshop Manager at The Reader Bookshop in Calderstones Park – one of Liverpool’s independents – has recommended six books for Mother’s Day which include a mix of poetry, prose as well as two new novels to get stuck into and two books celebrating motherhood. 

She said:

“We suggest a couple of highly anticipated brand-new releases, both are touching and speak to the complexity of human relationships, but in very different ways. We also include two books celebrating memoir and motherhood – real and honest reflections on the joy, anguish and complexities of mother-child relationships.”

1. Bedside Companion for Gardeners

“A mix of fact and fiction, fantasy and experience, this book is a treasure trove of green-fingered inspiration where practical advice blends seamlessly with poetry and prose from intrepid gardeners past and present. Dip in and out of this collection with an entry for every night of the year that draws on writing through the ages and from across the globe.”

ISBN: 9781849947138

How much? Hardback price: £25

2. A Poem to Read Aloud Every Day of The Year

“An anthology of 366 poems from around the world and throughout history, all especially selected for reading aloud, with one glorious poem for every day of the year.”

ISBN: 9781849948463

How much? Hardback price: £25

3. NEW: Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

“A funny, touching, hopeful gem about love, marriage and second chances.”

ISBN: 9781784745752

How much? Hardback price: £14.99

4. NEW: We Do Not Part by Han Kang

“Like a long winter’s dream, this haunting and visionary new novel from 2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang takes readers on a journey from contemporary South Korea into its painful history.”

ISBN: 9780241600269

How much? Hardback price: £18.99

5. The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride

“This is the remarkable story of an eccentric and determined woman: a rabbi’s daughter, born in Poland and raised in the Deep South who fled to Harlem, married a black preacher, founded a Baptist church and put 12 children through college. A celebration of resilience, faith and forgiveness, it is an eloquent exploration of what family really means.”

ISBN: 9780747538325

How much? Paperback price: £10.99

6. Nobody Told Me by Hollie McNish

“A collection of poems and stories; Hollie’s thoughts on raising a child in modern Britain, of trying to become a parent in modern Britain, of sex, commercialism, feeding, gender and of finding secret places to scream once in a while.”

ISBN: 9780349726571

How much? Paperback price: £12.99

To see this list and further Mother’s Day recommendations from The Reader Bookshop where books can also be ordered online please visit here.

Experience gift ideas for culture lovers 

Surprise your mum with a ticket or if your mum lives in the city, close to the park and is a frequent visitor, how about a year-long Calderstones Membership?

Later this spring The Reader is paying tribute to one of English literature’s greatest writers. A special Jane Austen Day celebrating the author’s 250^th birthday includes a Georgian-inspired lunch with dishes from Pen Vogler’s Dinner with Jane Austen recipe book, a talk from Lizzie Dunford, Director of Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire and a Pride and Prejudice Shared Reading session.

• Date and time: Sunday 27 April 2025, from 10.30am.
• How much? £50 including food. 
• Book here.

If your mum loves live theatre, treat her to a ticket to see one of five newly announced open-air theatre productions for this spring and summer in the restored Art-Deco Garden Theatre in Calderstones Park. 

• What’s On? Twelfth Night (10 July), Much Ado About Nothing (1 August), Pride and Prejudice (3 August), Pan and the Eternal Wreck (13 August) and HMS Pinafore (21 August).
• How much? Adult tickets range from £10 to £18 per person. 
• Full programme details here.

A Calderstones Membership entitles people to a range of benefits across 12 months, including 10% off food and drink in the cafes (excluding alcohol), books in the Reader Bookshop, the Ice Cream Parlour and tickets for events at The Reader and The Storybarn, as well as priority booking.

• How much? £25

Gift ideas for green thumbed mums

Is your mum is a beginner or seasoned gardener? Is she is looking to improve her gardening design know-how, learn how to propagate plants or create a wildlife haven? If so, this spring The Reader has joined forces with highly experienced and qualified horticultural experts from Estuary Botanics who will be providing real-life hands-on advice and tuition in three hands-on practical gardening courses. They include:

A one-day workshop on designing and planting vibrant, long lasting and sustainable summer containers. 

• Date and time: Saturday 5 April, from 10am – 3pm
• How much? £45
• Book here.

A one-day hands-on plant propagation workshop learning techniques in seed sowing, taking cuttings, and dividing perennials to create new plants for free.

• Date and time: Saturday 3 May, 10am – 3pm
• How much? £45
• Book here.

A six-week wildlife course learning to create a beautiful and sustainable garden from how to find the best spot for a bird box to creating a pond and planting a nectar-rich flowerbed.

• Dates and time: Starts Thursday 12 June, 10am – 1pm and runs at the same time every Thursday for six weeks.
• How much? £145
• Book here.

For further information about The Reader visit here.

Find out what else is on across Liverpool this Mother’s Day here.