Review Blog

Sep 24 2012

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