In That's What Mamas Do, a cycle of four stories, Davis celebrates all that is maternal and confirms once and for all that mother knows best.
The five stories in Father Was a Wise Old Man recall the wisdom of fathers with humor and rich detail: a visit to the Smithsonian inspires Father's memory; Father "cures" a boy's impulse to try cigarettes; Santa Claus learns an important lesson; someone plays a trick on a visiting preacher.