Books about mums
With Mother’s Day falling this month, I have some brand new titles to add to your Mother’s Day collections.
You’re Loved. Liz Clime. Welbeck Publishing, 2022, PP40, £6.99. ISBN: 978-1803380209
Told in gently rhyming, mellifluous text this new book by a previous illustrator of The Simpsons, captures perfectly the bittersweet, swiftly passing moments of early babyhood with its total dependence upon the caregiver, to those independent tottering steps and beyond. Touching without being at all sickly and with delightful humorous, soft toned illustrations this is warmly reassuring for both parent and child. Change happens but “You’re loved …and you always will be”.
My Mum is a Lioness. Swapna Haddow and Dapo Adeloa. Macmillan. 2022, pp32, £7.99. ISBN: 978-1529013993
Following the success of My Dad is a Grizzly Bear, this acclaimed duo bring us another hilarious and inclusive tale of a delightful mixed-race family. An imaginative boy concludes his Mum must be a lioness because she is always threatening to gobble him up and you can’t outrun her pounce or miss her loud, proud roar at all his performances. He may not always like being shown off to all the aunty lions, but when things go wrong there is nobody better to have around for a comforting cuddle. Besides there are much more ferocious beasts around “Wait until you see my little sister’s bite!” The little family details are beautifully observed and relatable.
My Must-Have Mum. Maudie Smith and Jen Khatun. Lantana, 2022, pp32, £11.99. ISBN: 978-1913747688
Not only is this a very sweet story about the bond between a mother and her young son who has to learn that he is just perfect as he is, but it is also a wonderfully positive portrait of disability. You can see on the cover and throughout in the wonderfully vibrant illustrations, that Jake’s Mum uses a wheelchair and the book starts with the words “My mum’s not like most mums.” But the wheelchair is never mentioned and certainly never gets in the way of his mum pursuing her passion for recycling and upcycling, which is what Jakes means when he says she is different. Where other people see rubbish, she sees possibilities. Jake’s anxiety is because he suddenly thinks that maybe his mum will want to change him too, but of course she doesn’t. A wonderfully inclusive title full of community spirit and love for nature and the environment.
Who’s Your Real Mum? Bernadette Green and Anne Zobel.Scribble, 2020, pp32, £6.99. ISBN: 978-1912854868
A delightfully affirmative picturebook about Elvi, a little girl with two mums, who patiently, humorously and imaginatively explains to school friend Nicholas that her mum is the one wearing jeans... the one who can pull a car with her teeth... ultimately, her friend learns, along with the reader that parental love comes in many forms, that it doesn't matter the gender, as long as they love you and proving that parenting is about so much more than biology. The subtle yellow hued illustrations underline the gender neutral point very effectively and contrast with Elvi’s imagined scenes in blues. A houghtful, playful tale that celebrates non-traditional families.
To read the rest of Joy’s recommendations for this month, just click on the link below.