Did My Mother Do That? by Sharon Holt & Brian Lovelock

If you were a new chick, your mother would have fluffed up her feathers and sat on you to keep you safe. Your mother didn’t do that.

Holly’s mum has to go out, and Holly isn’t keen. But Dad offers to tell Holly a story, about the night she was born. As Holly and Dad snuggle up, getting ready for bed, Holly asks about where she came from and what happened when she was born. Dad starts by telling her, in response to her questions, about the things her mum didn’t do – hatching her from an egg, carrying her about in a pouch, or even feeding her mice for dinner, before telling Holly what her mother did do, carrying her in her tummy and then crying tears of joy when she was born.

Did My Mother Do That? is a gentle story of the bond between mother and child which manages to also be a lovely demonstration of the paternal relationship, too. with Dad being the one who spends the time with Holly when Mum has to go out.

A lovely bedtime – or any time – story, illustrated with lovely mixed media illustrations using a combination of acrylic, watercolour and pencil. The animals hop, swim and wander across the pages, as they enter Holly and Dad’s imaginations, so that the animals and the humans share the spreads in a way which will intrigue young readers.

Lovely.

Did My Mother Do That?, by Sharon Holt & Brian Lovelock
Walker Books, 2012
ISBN 978192172060

Avaialble from good bookstores or online from Fishpond.