Book Review - Are You My Mother?

Eastman, P.D. 1960. Are You My Mother?. Beginner Books, Inc.: New York.

Through simple text and illustrations, P.D. Eastman tells the classic story of a baby bird’s search for his mother. As the story opens, the mother bird leaves her nest to find food for her soon-to-be-hatched baby. Before she returns, her baby hatches and begins to search for her, complicated by the fact that the baby has no idea what his mother looks like! Surely the kitten, hen, dog, or cow could not be his mother, which leads the baby bird to wonder, “Did he have a mother?” Of course he did. After passing up a junkyard car, boat, and plane, the fledgling is scooped up by a most frightening piece of machinery he calls a “Snort”, which could certainly not be his mother, but thankfully drops him safely back in his nest. Mother Bird soon returns with a worm, and the baby knows exactly who she is – his mother! The text is comfortingly repetitive, yet never redundant as it tracks the determined baby bird’s search. Eastman’s illustrations are for the most part simple, with plain lines, and muted colors, but splashes of yellow and red add vibrancy. The longevity of this wonderfully sweet story speaks for itself. [By Mandy Hooker, written as an assignment for TWU SLIS]

Book Review - Library Lion

Knudsen, Michelle, ill. Kevin Hawkes. 2006. Library Lion. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press.

In this charming picture book by Michelle Knudsen, a lion comes to the library. After learning to follow the rules, he returns everyday to enjoy story hour with the children, and help the librarian Mrs. Merriweather with chores. When Mrs. Merriweather falls and breaks her arm, the lion roars loudly to get the attention of library clerk, Mr. McBee, and thus help his hurt friend. Disheartened by his rule breaking, the lion leaves the library, and doesn’t return until Mr. McBee comforts him by explaining “that there’s a new rule at the library. No roaring allowed, unless you have a very good reason – say, if you’re trying to help a friend who’s been hurt, for example.” Everyone soon understood that “sometimes there was a good reason to break the rules. Even in the library.” The lion is an enduring character, and portrays the library as a welcoming, comfortable, and interesting place to be. Soft-toned pencil and acrylic illustrations on cream-colored paper add a warm coziness to the book, and dark brown text contributes to this affect. [By Mandy Hooker, written as an assignment for TWU SLIS]