The Best Mama in the World

PreS—A series of animals and a little girl celebrate their mothers in this story told in rhyme. A fox relates how her mother bandages an injury and comforts her. A kitten's mother "gives my face a wash/until I'm sparkling clean." A baby polar bear is warmed up by "a nice hot cup of tea." Mama duck "Takes us little ones to splash/And cool down in the lake." Baby seal and mama build "a sand castle…with shovels, shells, and toys that float/And water from the sea." The final spread shows a girl in her mother's arms at the edge of her bed: "My mama waves to the moon and stars/As through the glass they peep./She tucks me in, give me a kiss/and then I go to sleep." Cheerful illustrations provide anthropomorphic animals in their habitats embellished with clothing, toys, and household goods, giving lots of details to spot on the page. However, it is a bit odd to see the animals in their natural settings with household objects such as a teapot on a stove and a cub in a carriage in the polar bears' icy landscape. Mem Fox's Time for Bed (Harcourt, 1993) and Nancy Tafuri's All Kinds of Kisses (Little, Brown, 2012) provide better and more timeless portrayls of motherly love in naturalistic settings.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI