My Mother is Mine - Hardcover

Bauer, Marion Dane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689822677 ISBN 13: 9780689822674

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

While a baby bear shows his pride in his mother's bravery, a tiger cub shares his feelings about his mother's strength, in a colorful picture book about a child's special love for its mother.

About this title

About the Author

Marion Dane Bauer is the author of Grandmother's Song, If You Were Born a Kitten, and Sleep, Little One, Sleep, as well as many other books, including the Newbery Honor Book On My Honor. She lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1-This book captures the warmth of a mother-child relationship in verse and illustrations. Each spread features a full-page picture of a baby animal interacting with its mother, along with a page of text explaining what makes that parent special. "My mother is soft" appears opposite two sheep cuddled together; "My mother is strong" shows a tiger carrying her cub in her mouth; and two owls sitting together on a branch illustrate "My mother watches me long and long." Young children will recognize the parallels between their own families and those of the animals, as a baby bird is given a worm ("My mother feeds me"), and a kangaroo rides safely inside its mother's pouch ("She holds me tight"). The soft focus of Elwell's pastel illustrations is well suited to the gentle rhythms of the text. The end of the book reveals a young girl drawing pictures of the animals, making a card for her mother with the inscription: "My mother is special./My mother is fine./My mother,/my mother,/my mother is mine!" A welcome addition to Mother's Day collections and family storytimes.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Bauer (If You Were Born a Kitten) and Elwell (Three Brave Women) explore the depths, delights and ferocity of the mother-child bond and for the most part, their foray into unabashed emotion works well. Bauer's rhymed text brings to mind the poignant vulnerability of a mash note from a young child: "My mother is pretty./ My mother is brave./ My mother still loves me when I misbehave." But because the sentences are parceled out one per page, the effect is never cloying. Elwell's stunning, diaphanous pastel illustrations flirt with the conventions of calendar art: his characterizations are mostly grounded in a realistic appreciation of the natural world, but the gauzy surfaces and the intensity of the animals' expressions are the stuff of pure romanticism. A tiger mother beams with pride as she carries her pliant cub by the scruff of the neck; a vigilant mother horned owl is regarded with utter adoration by her little puffball baby. Unfortunately, the final sequence, showing a girl creating a greeting card for her mother, lacks the intensity of the animal illustrations; the child's expressions seem a bit clich‚d. An actual card bearing the same illustration as that on the girl's is included inside the back cover. Ages 1-5.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0689822677
• ISBN 13: 9780689822674
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Elwell Peter
• Number of pages: 40