My Mum is a Magician

My Mum is a Magician by Damon Young, illustrated by Peter Carnavas (UQP)

HB RRP $24.95  ISBN 9780702259944

Reviewed by Brook Tayla

This book is filled with fun and frivolity from beginning to end and is sure to delight pre-school children. It is full of amazing Mums in diverse and unusual roles who get up to all sorts of antics both in the workplace and at home. The main Mum is a magician and will keep children wondering how mothers just seem to know what’s going on – even when you think they’re not looking!

The rhyming text is well written, making the flow an easy out-loud read. The illustrations are funny and will have children laughing.  There are a lot of animal characters to discover on each page and they are placed in very comedic situations.

This is a light-hearted, fun book that is the latest release in the family series: My Sister is a Superhero, My Pop is a Pirate, My Brother is a Beast and My Nanna is a Ninja. I predict that Dad will be next and wonder what he will get up to !

This would be a great book to share with young children. I can imagine teachers using this for Mothers Day prompts or discussions about mothers.

Brook Tayla writes a picture book review blog at telltalestome@wordpress.com and would love you to drop by, read some reviews, leave a comment and subscribe.  Brook also offers editing services for beginning and emerging writers.

Dear Mum, I Love You

Dear Mum, I Love You by Ed Allen, Illustrated by Simon Williams (Scholastic Australia)

HB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-1-74362-632-0

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

There is only one thing cuter than baby animals – that’s baby animals writing letters of thanks and love to their mothers. And along with fabulous illustrations, this sweet book out just in time for Mother's Day is filled with both.

Each page features a different animal with its own special letter of appreciation to Mum. Baby Elephant loves the way his mum splashes him in the bath, Baby Cheetah wants to be a champion runner just like his mum and Baby Koala loves the cuddly snoozes he and his mum take together.  The thanks each child expresses are specific to their situations, yet they could also apply to anyone who reads this book and children will recognise and understand these qualities within themselves and their mothers.

Children will also enjoy ‘finding’ the letters. Some are on the page but many are beneath flaps or inside envelopes.

The illustrations are colourful, fun and full of cheeky humour. Williams captures the playfulness of the mother/child relationships which helps this picture book avoid becoming overly sweet. There are adventurous ducks, a wonderful  rabbit burrow fill of baby bunnies with separate personalities and an echidna family with a great twist on mum finding baby's soft toy (it's stuck on the spikes of Dad's bottom - Mum's eye rolling is fabulous).

Dear Mum, I Love You is a great book for parents, grandparents and older siblings to share with young children. It will generate conversations about the feelings expressed within the book and children can also create their own Dear Mum letter on the blank one, helpfully provided in an envelope on the last page.