Is Mommy?

Victoria Chang, 1970-

Book - 2015

"In this ode to hardworking mommies everywhere, they may not always be fun or neat, but their toddlers love them no matter what"--

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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Beach Lane Books [2015]
Language
English
Main Author
Victoria Chang, 1970- (-)
Other Authors
Marla Frazee (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm
ISBN
9781481402927
Contents unavailable.
Review by New York Times Review

A FEW YEARS after the fact, my youngest daughter asked, "How'd you get milk to come out of your boobs?" My first answer was a stilted, "Uhh." I was embarrassed to have such a loose grip on my own biology. "I don't really know." She proposed a miniature cow inside my rib cage. She waded fearlessly into the unknown. When everything is strange and new, minor mysteries (popcorn, tuning forks) carry the same weight as the nonminor mysteries (biology, birth, death and the sometimes lonely in-between). Three new books rely on the supple child mind to help us see the familiar as something wholly new and surprising. Like the farsighted reader who requires distance to see clearly, these books make room for mystery in order to understand the wondrously complex and totally basic bond between children and their parents. W. G. Sebald once said, "The astonishing monsters that we know ... leave us with a suspicion that even the most fantastical beasts might not be mere inventions." The fantastical beasts in "The Menino," by the Argentine author and illustrator Isol, are newborn humans. In this telling of the strange story of what happens when a child comes into existence, the Menino (Portuguese for "child") seems to enter our world like an alien on a surprise visit to planet Earth, bringing with it bizarre customs and characteristics. "The Menino arrives naked and yelling, as if to make sure everyone notices." The Menino has "two little windows up high," complete with curtains; a pump in his mouth to sip and suck milk "prepared by the woman of the house"; and between the windows and the pump "two little holes that are tunnels.... The Menino checks them frequently and is personally responsible for keeping them open. That's because the Menino loves to breathe." Human biology is made fresh and magnificent again. The shocking perfection of our bodies and our mode of growing these bodies is celebrated. "Everything is useful in the Menino." Isol's jangly, hand-wrought illustrations are expert companions to both the humor and the poetry of her book. Her images are layered and slipped slightly off their undercolor as if a small creature has given them a good shaking. Expected patterns are disrupted, as when a new baby arrives. "The Menino illuminates the middle of the night when he turns himself on.... The Menino sets his alarms just in case. Night is a thief that steals all the colors." Naturally, questions arise. "Where does he come from? Where was he before?" And: "Why does he move as though he were swimming through the air?" Isol answers these questions truthfully, if magically. "The Menino has been on a long voyage and needs to sleep." A reader might find his or her own questions cropping up. Why do we know so little about what it will be like to parent? Why is the experience of parenting often couched in clichés or made to sound simplistic when it is, by any measure, the most essential and astonishingly bizarre human relationship? In "Is Mommy?" Victoria Chang and Marla Frazee raise similar questions even more directly. It is a simple book that asks a very unsimple question. After a series of childish inquires are posed - "Is Mommy pretty ... or ugly?" "Is Mommy fun ... or boring?" - each question is met with a resounding, shrieking, childish answer. "UGLY!" "BORING!" The surprise comes when the book's giggling protagonists manage to convince a reader that these critical shout-outs are not complaints but instead confirmations of the truest love. One of my daughters in a tender moment of snuggling whispered: "I love you, Mommy. You're so chubby and your beard is so soft." I managed to mumble my thanks. "Is Mommy?" lobs an attack on perfectionism. When parenting blogs and social media edit out hot tempers, hangovers, the tedium of groceries, fearful obsessions with death and eroding body confidence to suggest that parenting is all butterfly cupcakes, quilting projects completed in time for birthdays and endless nonwageearning hours spent biking to swimming holes or exploring museums, it can be difficult to remember that the only essential qualities required for parenting are kindness and courage. Chang and Frazee's playful book reminds a reader that children love well and without reservation; especially when it comes to their "short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy" mommies. Then what of a place where parents are loved, yes, but barely visible? What happens when the working world of adults and governments invades the space of childhood? In Guojing's dreamy, wordless debut, "The Only Child," a resilient, apple-cheeked young heroine braves such an environment. After dozing off on a city bus, she wakes in an unknown forest. The book's charcoal palette doubles as both a muted gray of factory smoke and a silvery fantasyland up in the clouds, a place close to the moon populated by flying deer, enormous whales and an irresistibly plump seal pup creature. The dark current flowing underneath such lush imagery is the loneliness of childhood under China's one-child policy. Guojing explains in an author's note how her parents were sometimes forced to leave her home alone or else rely on her, at the age of 6, to make her own way to her grandmother's house via bus and city street. The lonely child is led to bravery through her imagination, a path sometimes obstructed in our own culture by parental perimeters or stifling ideas of safety. This book asks what happens when a child is left alone to encounter the world with all its dangers, all its wonders. As Guojing's palette suggests, both the light and the dark, the worlds above and below push against magnitudes sublime and unknown: the sea, endless silence, the eyes of animals, even the worrying love of parents. Our tiny heroine, with the help of a constant stag, uses imagination to trample fears and feelings of isolation first in the fantasy cloudland and later in the world of the factory. The real magic of each of these books is how they resist the urge to solve mysteries with pat assurances. Rather, they point out that mystery exists, that mystery is without end. They might even invite the mysterious in, so that reading them, child and parent alike can wonder at its sometimes fearful, sometimes stunningly gorgeous depths. SAMANTHA HUNT is the author of the novels "The Seas" and "The Invention of Everything Else." Her new novel, "Mr. Splitfoot," will be published in January.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 11, 2015]
Review by Booklist Review

An unseen narrator poses questions about Mommy to six toddlers: Is she tall or short; pretty or ugly; nice or mean; fun or boring; young or old; neat or messy? In each case, the shouted reply is the latter, more negative alternative. Yet when asked, Do you love your short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy mommy? the rejoinder is a resounding YES! What might have been a slightly irreverent but ultimately reaffirming question-and-response tale here becomes a hilarious narrative, thanks to Frazee's artistic talent. Using tempera paint on Manila paper, she creates matching toddler-mommy pairs, each decked out in a distinctive candy color, with matching clothing and hairstyle. Her uncluttered spreads feature only the characters and oversize speech balloons, which will help toddlers to focus on the story essentials. And, although messy Mommy's cupcakes may have something to do with the final positive comeback, it's clear that everyone here is having a wonderful time. Kids will appreciate the story's visual absurdities, making it perfect for story time or one-on-one sharing.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Poet Chang (The Boss) makes her children's debut with a dialogue between children and an unseen narrator, which Frazee (The Farmer and the Clown) draws with raucous exuberance. The cast is a crayon box of round-headed elfin preschoolers-a red one in polka dots, a green one with many pigtails, and so on. "Is Mommy tall or short?" the narrator asks the polka-dot girl. A spread shows the alternatives, comically exaggerated: does her mommy tower over her, or is she a tiny doll? A page turn reveals her shouted reply: "Short!" A child in orange pajamas joins her. "Is Mommy pretty... or ugly?" (the child's groggy mother awakens with a wild, spiky bedhead and puffy slits for eyes). "Ugly!" yells orange pajamas. The children always choose the rudest option, but the group answers the final question ("Do you love your short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy mommy?") with a resounding "Yes!" There are many mothers who feel beleaguered enough without signing up for a readaloud like this, but the children's anarchic glee rings very true. Up to age 5. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Toddler-PreS-A troupe of toddlers cheekily field questions about their mothers. An unseen narrator asks, "Is mommy tall.../or short?" A red-headed imp ponders the query and imagines a tall mommy reaching down for a loving embrace, and then fantasizes about towering over a suddenly diminutive, doll-like mommy. A huge speech bubble, spread across the next two pages, shouts the child's answer: "Short!" More options are posed to a growing crowd of mischievous tots, such as whether Mommy is boring or fun, young or old, neat or messy. The contrary answers are bellowed out with unabashed glee. The final question, "Do you love your short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy mommy?" is answered with an unequivocal "YES!" Frazee's tempera paint illustrations take center stage and star a colorful cast of children who are outfitted in primary color wardrobes and have uniquely fashioned hairdos. VERDICT Toddlers will relish the simple, headstrong text in this quirky book.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Six cartoonish kids are asked to choose between opposites to describe their mommies. "Is mommy nice... / or mean?" Each kid gleefully picks the negative attribute; in the end, all proclaim to love their "short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy momm[ies]." Frazee's lively illustrations carry much of the story and help to soften the text, which strives for humor but may confound listeners. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A passel of tots discuss their moms' positive and negative aspects with uncontained glee. "Is mommy tall... / or short?" an unseen narrator asks a crimson-haired tyke wearing a matching crimson dress with white polka dots. The child imagines "tall" (mommy leans down lovingly, about to pick up her dubious-looking daughter) and "short" (now the child looms over a suddenly shrunken, dismayed-looking mommy). With a turn of the page, a definitive, spread-dominating speech bubble declares, "Short!" Other child-and-mommy pairings demonstrate pretty or ugly, nice or mean, fun or boring, young or old, neat or messy; each mommy is loudly adjudged the negative alternative, the growing crowd of children reveling in the mischief. Frazee uses tempera in a limited palette of candy colors, black, and white on soft tan Manila paper, brush strokes giving each area of color (plus the white speech bubbles) luscious texture. The moms look like tall, elongated versions of their children, down to identically colored clothing and hair and distinctive hairstyles. In fluidity of line, simplicity and boldness of palette, and often peculiarity of hairstyle, the figures evoke Seuss' Whos; in sheer impishness, these children are 100-percent Frazee. When asked, "Do you love your short, ugly, mean, boring, old, messy mommy?" however, there is no question in these children's minds: "Yes!" A funny and deceptively simple meditation on unconditional filial love. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.