As most of you know I review books for Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database and then I write blogs about them. I thought the latest batch of books had been sent but got lost in the mail or was redirected to someone else in the community by mistake. So, I posted a message on our community listserv asking if someone else had received my books. A neighbor said he didn’t have my books but would I review a picture book his daughter had illustrated.
“If you or your daughter would review one of my books and post your review, I’d be happy to return the favor,” said I. He agreed and here’s my review of Mama’s New Do.
Mama’s New Do
Gretchen M. Everin
Illustrated by Tara Britt Story
In case you haven’t noticed, we humans have made a mess of this planet. So now we have flooding in some places and drought in others and devasting wildfires in others. The point of this sweet book is to make young children understand how to try to rectify the problem. When Grandma comes home all gussied up, the child wishes her family could do the same for Mother Earth. Maybe we can make her look better by not wasting water or generating electricity in more sustainable ways. Or we can even go back to hanging our clothes on lines outdoors to reduce the use of electricity. Of course, to do that, we’ll have to do something about the pollution destroying our planet. Though I personally prefer line drawings like those in the original Winnie the Pooh or Wind in the Willows, the illustrations in this book are sweetly done, making this an appealing look for youngsters. The book is designed for very young children who will need to have someone read it to them. But the younger the better for children to learn how to correctly manage this world.
BIBLIO: 2015, Wandering the World Press, Ages 4 to 6, $9.13.
REVIEWER: Sarah Maury Swan
FORMAT: Picture Book
ISBN-10: 0996787801
ISBN-13: 978-0-9967878-0-2
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