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MY MOTHER'S TONGUES

Name: MY MOTHER'S TONGUES
Author: Uma Menon
ISBN: 9781536222517

A WEAVING OF LANGUAGES

by Uma Menon ; illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2024

A charming ode to the joy of learning new languages.

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Musings on multilingualism.

Sumi’s mother speaks two languages: Malayalam and English. She speaks Malayalam because she grew up in the Indian state of Kerala, where Malayalam is the local language. She speaks English because she learned it in school in India; years later, she would immigrate to America. Similarly, Sumi learned Malayalam—“my first tongue”—from using it with family at home in America. Sumi learned English by listening to other people at school and in the neighborhood; mother and child are now comfortable in both tongues. Sumi explains that learning a new language can be difficult—Sumi’s mother struggled with American English when she arrived in the U.S., while Sumi needs help speaking Malayalam when visiting relatives in India. While learning a language might be challenging, it also opens so many doors, which is why Sumi considers multilingualism to be the ultimate superpower. The illustrations, which mimic tapestries, are a clever companion to the text, which often invokes a weaving metaphor to explain the feeling of bi- and multilingualism. At times the book feels more like a lecture than a story. Still, it conveys an essential message about the power of language, and the lyrical narratorial voice beautifully balances curiosity and playfulness.

A charming ode to the joy of learning new languages. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024

ISBN: 9781536222517

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HOW TO CATCH A MAMASAURUS

From the How To Catch… series

by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024

A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.

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Another creature is on the loose.

The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.