This article was first published in the "Beijing News Children's Book". The Beijing News Children's Books (xjbkids) is the children's book branch of Book Review Weekly, which will unite more publishing brands to select children's books for readers and enrich parent-child time for parents.
In most Chinese families, the main chores and childcare are undertaken by the mother (the child's mother or grandmother). In life dramas, there is always a mother role implanted, she chatters and perseveres in the life of her children. In traditional stories, mothers are also exemplars of self-sacrifice worthy of praise. So, is the mother a species that people love and hate?
This year's Mother's Day, the book reviewer jun selected 15 kinds of "mothers" from many children's books on the market - smiling mothers, helpless mothers, nagging mothers, working mothers, second-born mothers, mothers who know how to let go... The real mother is actually a magician, who can switch her constitution at any time according to the scene. If you find that your mother is gentle one second before and then irritable one second, then it is time to have a mother's comforting secret~
Multi-style mom
"Strange Mother"
[West] Raquel Diaz Regla by/illustrated
Cultivating the forest | Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House, May 2018
Age of readability: 6+
The book is illustrated and summarizes the various types of mothers. There are confused mothers, screaming mothers, magic tricks mothers, domineering mothers, story king mothers, dedication mothers... Each type of mom comes with a portrait illustration. Because of their distinct personality, every mother also has her own parenting standards and best inventions. But no matter what kind of mother, they are desperately trying to be a good mother.
This book has exaggerated humor, which is suitable for mothers to read by themselves and find their own shadows from inside. If a child has learned to compare his own mother with someone else's mother, then this book is undoubtedly a "mother's dictionary."
Mom who does the game
"The Shop For Mom and Dad"
[Fa] Pang Di wrote/painted
Relay Press April 2019
Age of readability: 4+
What if you don't like your current mom or dad? There is a shop with 35 pairs of various "daddy" and "mom" and all kinds of novel magic gadgets, and children can "buy" a dad or "exchange" a mom according to their preferences. If you don't like adventurous moms and dads, you can choose a careful mom and dad; if you don't like nagging moms and dads, you can choose a pair of moms and dads who like silence...
This book is somewhat similar to the previous "Strange Mother", which categorizes the mother, but the father is also added. Reading this book with your child and playing the games inside may be able to know what type of mom your child wants.
Helpless mother
Hurry up and go to sleep! 》
By Adam Mansbach, painted by Ricardo Cortez
Love Tree | Nova Press February 2021
Age of readability: 3+
Although it is not a book written specifically for mothers, in families where mothers mainly do childcare work, the title has spoken out of mothers' hearts.
Many parent-child reading freeze-frame pictures are warm and beautiful, in fact, mothers who have worked hard for a day are enduring impatience, hoping that their children will go to bed early to do their own things, read, shop or chase dramas.
In this book, in the face of the little angel who did not have a little sleepiness, but jumped up and down, Dad tried his best to do nothing, and as a result, he fell asleep first... The sweetness and helplessness of parenting have been in the half an hour before going to bed.
Healing is a mom
"That Day, I Lost My Superpowers"
By Michael Escofier, [French] by Chris Di Giacomo
Magic is like | Guangxi Normal University Press, January 2015
The book's author, Escofier, has authored a number of picture books, and his stories are known for their witty humor, with often unexpected openings and endings.
In this book, it is obviously a little troublesome spirit, but he feels that this is his superpower, he makes this pot of flowers not move it; he can still be invisible after messing things up, and his mother can't find him; he can still talk to animals, and if he wants the dog to rush out, he can rush out... But one day, he found that his superpowers had been lost, and he was so sad. At this time, mom appeared and gave him a kiss...
Angry mom
"10 Ways to Make Mom angry"
[French] by Sylvie de Machus, [French] by Sebastian Diolojan
Beijing Science and Technology Press, October 2015
The children in this book are somewhat similar to David in "David, No", creating the 10 scenes that are most likely to make the mother angry, in addition to making the house dirty, "rubbing", "loving junk food" and "pretending not to hear" are also on the list.
In the face of all this, how can the mother still be the gentle mother? These things are really infuriating! Fortunately, there is a reversal at the end of the book - if you want to make your mother happy, do it according to the opposite of these methods.
Can't always be the mother is tolerant of the child, the child should also be relieved of the mother, right?
Wise Mom
"The Runaway Bunny"
By Margaret Wises Brown, painted by Clement Hurd
Friendship | Tomorrow Press October 2017
Published in 1942, almost 70 years after its publication, this classic picture book is written and illustrated by pioneers of American picture books, and it is often featured in various recommended book lists. It's a conversation between a mischievous bunny and a wise mom, and it's also a love hide-and-seek.
Maybe every child has fantasized about leaving home like a bunny, but no matter where the bunny wants to run, the mother can find her and give her absolute security.
Apologetic mom
"Big Voice Mom"
[de] Yuta Paul by/illustrated
Sunray Press, January 2009
Age of readability: 2+
Reading this picture book, you may laugh out loud.
The mother yelled at the child's voice too loud, shattering the child, the head flew into the universe, the wings flew to the rainforest, the mouth fell to the top of the mountain, the ass was lost in the noisy city... Mom regretted it, walked through thousands of mountains and rivers, and sewed up the "fragmented" baby...
The baby is very naughty, and the mother can't help but get angry. But every mother who yells at her child is endlessly annoyed afterwards. At this time, seriously say "I'm sorry" to the baby, and the baby will forgive the mother.
Almighty Mom
"Mom's Bank Account"
By Catherine Forbes, translated by Lü Shuxiang/Hou Ping/Song Suchen
Yilin Publishing House, January 2018
Age of readability: 9+
It is a children's literature with 17 heartwarming little stories that together constitute a panoramic view of the life of a family who immigrated from Norway to the United States in the early 20th century. The first short story, "Mom's Bank Account", has been published in many magazines such as Reader, Book Digest, and Middle School Chinese.
When Dad needs surgery, only Mom knows how to deal with the greedy Doctor's Wife; when tenants run away from rent, only Mom can find a way to compensate; when a reclusive aunt is in trouble, only Mom knows how to help her live in her old age; the "little ladies" in the family get into trouble at school, and only Mom can resolve the embarrassment...
This mother is very much like the traditional Chinese mothers, and she also responded to the sentence: Women are weak, and mothers are strong.
Stay-at-home mom
The White Rabbit Lady
[French] By Jill Bashkrey
Wave Blossom | Beijing United Publishing Company, July 2017
Age of readability: 5+
Mrs. White Rabbit was in the face of a room full of children. She was worried that her eldest daughter was bent on losing weight, so she tried a hundred carrot recipes; worried that Betty was not used to her new school; the youngest son, Elliott, was sometimes precocious and sometimes naïve; the twins were more carefree, but the younger daughter Emily was always yawning like her father; and the accidental intrusion of Cheshire cats and Alice also made her sad.
Mrs. White Rabbit's eldest daughter fantasized about 100 professions, while Lady White Rabbit's world was only her family. Madame White Rabbit hid her little wish in her diary: Can the White Rabbit, who is always in charge of the affairs of the palace, her husband, remember her thirtieth birthday?
The author, Gil Bashelai, is good at drawing from fairy tales, the White Rabbit Lady is from the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, and the pictures in the book also hide many details related to Alice in Wonderland and Alice in the Mirror, each detail can be written again, which is a metaphor for the unspeakable hardships of the mother who raises children alone.
Nagging mom
"My Mom Says: Twelve Stories of Me and My Mom"
Wang Wenhua/Wang Yuqing/Liu Bole/Liu Siyuan/Liu Qingyan et al., painted by Barkley
Yutian Culture | M&G Publishing House, September 2018
In the conversation of adults, there must be three words of "my mother said". When I was a child, I hated my mother and loved to nag, but the words that my mother repeatedly nagged were unconsciously engraved in my own words and deeds. It turned out that nagging was Mom's most powerful weapon. It is full of mother's love and conveys mother's values.
The book comes from 12 children's literature creators in Taiwan, and everyone comes to talk about a sentence that their mother loves to say and recall a small story related to her mother. Some mothers are particularly cute, not afraid of rats, some mothers will also be chicken babies, constantly emphasizing that "reading is very important, to read well"...
Each of the 12 authors also wrote a sentence to their mother and put it in the book's insert. If it were you, how would you remember your mother, and what would you say back to your mother?
Working moms
"Little Yong Thinks of Mother"
[Sun] Written by Teruo Asakawa, [Sun] Tomoko Kayatanigawa
Days slightly | Beijing United Publishing Company April 2019
Although his grandparents and father are with Xiao Yong, he still misses his mother. What did Mom do? Mom went to work, and Dad told Xiao Yong that Mom would have to work late today. Xiao Yong could only silently wait for his mother to return.
Moms don't want their children to endure separation anxiety, but for working moms, it's a hurdle that must be faced. Only in the evening, when the mother finally returned home to pick up the baby, it was as if she had returned to the time when she was with the baby every day.
Fairy mother
Strange Mom
[Han] Bai Xina wrote/painted
Relay Press, August 2019
It's a wonderful story that happened on a rainy day. Hao Hao was sick, and her mother who was working was anxious but could not rush to Hao Hao's side immediately, so she made a phone call and sent a fairy mother to take care of Hao Hao, the fairy mother was so powerful, she could make clouds, and it would rain, Hao Hao lay on one of the biggest clouds and fell asleep...
Mothers who are good at making up stories can always think of some clever tricks to soothe their sad babies. The characters in this book are all handmade by the painter Bai Xina, much like a puppet on paper, using a variety of artistic techniques such as painting, photography, paper cutting, and fabric art, presenting a "sense of ugliness".
Mother of a second child
"I Want to Be a Mom Too"
[Japanese] By Akiko Higashi/E
Fun fun | Gansu Children's Publishing House, September 2020
After his younger brother Xiaobu was born, his mother has been circling around him, and there is not much time to share with Xiaoxi. Xiao Xi hoped that her mother would help her button up, and her mother said, Wait a minute. Xiaoxi felt bored alone, so she decided to play her mother herself. She learns from her mother to do housework, dresses her "baby" in her old clothes... It turns out that being a mother is so tired!
Pretend play is an important way for children to learn to think. Finally, Mom and Xiaobu fell asleep on the couch, Xiaoxi gently covered them with a quilt, she said, Mom, you sleep well, just let me be Mom's mother for a little while.
Mom who dares to let go
Medusa Mama
Written/illustrated by Katie Krauzer
Whimsical nation | Zhejiang Children's Publishing House, June 2020
The book's author, Katie Krauter, is a Belgian national treasure picture book author who has won the Lindgren Memorial Award.
Medusa's mother had long hair, and her baby, Eliza, grew in her hair. With the help of her hair, Elissie walked in the sea for the first time, greeted the birds for the first time, listened to stories in her hair, and taught her to read... Although her mother's hair was warm, the growing Elissie wanted to see the world outside of her hair.
It turns out that no matter how powerful the mother is, it is not omnipotent, and the child will be independent one day. Medusa's mother finally cut off her long hair, and she was still so beautiful with short hair.
I love my mother.
"I Love My Mom So Much"
By Doreen Cronin
Beijing Science and Technology Press, April 2021
This is a mom's manual. Mom is like Superman, super awesome. But if you don't get proper care and maintenance, Superman's mother will also be tired and deformed.
The book humorously depicts what Mom looks like when she is functioning normally, with mild wear and tear, and if Mom says angry words or suddenly falls silent, it means that Mom may be malfunctioning, so come and fix Mom.
In addition to many hilarious pictures, a "Mother Repair and Maintenance Knowledge Q&A" exam paper is also presented. The author's previous masterpiece is the "Diary of an Earthworm" series.
Editor| Shen Chan
Proofreading | Xue Jingning
Source: Beijing News