Supermom

Supermom

From BooklistAges 2-5. Moms do many things for their children. After they give birth or lay eggs, they often provide food and shelter, transportation, entertainment, protection, and love. How humans of various races and animals accomplish this is the focus of Manning's book. A brightly colored pen-and-ink and watercolor painting shows a human mom scooting along on her motorbike, her youngster seated behind her. Smaller illustrations on the same double-page spread show a monkey swinging with her baby clinging to her back, an orca swimming alongside her young, and a swallow flying to her babies' nest. The spare text and the captions accompanying the pictures are in different type styles and sizes, which give a cartoon look to the pages. The animals pictured are identified and their behaviors explained in the Supermom Index at book's end. Manning acknowledges that some animals, like snakes, merely lay eggs and then leave and that the "scary" supermom, pictured with multiple piercings and tricolor hair, may be offensive to some. A hint about a sequel on fathering concludes. Ellen MandelCopyright