My Mum makes illustrated by Dee Texidor
Lothian Children's Books. ISBN 978 0 7344 1281 2.
This vibrant book is a real celebration of the role that Mum plays
in
the life of the young narrator. From the minute the girl gets up,
Mum
is there, making sure that her daughter is up, dressed and fed. They
do
cooking together, make crafts, play with friends, do gardening (with
a
subtle nod to the growth of organic plants, which reads as a little
smug and pretentious to be honest), oversees rest time, and tucks
her
young daughter in with a story at night.
The girl recognises that Mum is ALWAYS busy doing things, and that
sometimes she has to play on her own (which is a nice balance,
otherwise the message young ones could take away from the story is
that
Mum is a one stop entertainment machine!), and that now Mum has made
something new! A baby!
My only concern with this book is that, in reading it to a young
child
with a new sibling, or a sibling on the way, is that it is setting
them
up for disappointment. It's a very special Mum indeed that can keep
up
all the former activities, right down to the planting of the organic
plants, with a newborn in the house as well. Perhaps the book would
have been better to run a few pages longer, and capture the reality
of
'once baby comes, things will be different, but now I can make
things
for baby'.
Nonetheless, this is a bright, colourful and collage filled
celebration
of a dedicated Mum, and a daughter who knows she has a very busy and
talented Mum. The book touches on Mum having enough love to share
with
2 children, which is always a valuable take away message.
Freya Lucas