Where Are You? (Are You My Mother - P.D. Eastman)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	Are You My Mother - P.D. Eastman
Date:	03/01/06 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely story for the very young

Disadvantages: none

This book is one that is part of the Beginner Books series which is much more commonly associated with Dr Seuss. It is however, written by Philip Dey Eastman who was born in 1909 and worked with Seuss on the Private Snafu films during the 2nd World War. As well as working for Disney Productions and Warner Brothers in the late 30s and 40s, he also worked at UPA on the Gerald McBoing-Boing cartoons in the 50's and was a scriptwriter on the lovable Mr McGoo cartoons.

He wrote this book in 1960 and it is a story of a baby bird who hatches when he is all alone in his nest. What follows is his long journey to find his mother. All together now - Awwww!!!

Now the mother has seen that her egg is about to hatch and has decided to go find him some food but her baby doesn't know that and decides to go look for her. What he doesn't realise is that his nest is a long way up in a tall tree and he can't fly yet so after a bit of a bump he picks himself up and ventures on his quest.

There are many animals who he meets along the way including a kitten, a hen, a dog and a cow. To each he asks the same question, "Are You My Mother?" Despite the answer being no each time he is not put off and he continues to start thinking that metal objects may be her.

A car, boat, plane are all looked at by the scrawny little bird until he sees something which he is sure is to be the one he is looking for. This massive object is in fact a mechanical digger and too late he hears the noise it makes which is a loud 'Snort' and he realises he has made a mistake once again. Already on top of the digger arm the little bird panics but all is not lost as he lands back in his nest just before his mother arrives who is totally unaware of the adventure her newborn has just undertaken.

This story is lovely to read with a young child and with the clever repetition it isn't long before he or she will be reading alongside you. The illustrations are simple but tell the story as well as the words that accompany them. One of my favourites is the look on the bird's face as he realises he is falling downwards out of the tree. He is so obviously unaware of what a big drop means and by the fact that he is unable to fly.

My 3 year old loves this book and it is always a favourite bedtime read, along with the Dr Seuss books that we have in this beginner books series such as Hop on Pop amongst others. He loves to recite it with me and knows most of it off by heart already. He also gets quite animated when the egg jumps in the nest and the mother realises it is about to hatch and he always gives a little jump too.

What I love about the book is the little bird's determination - even when he doubts himself at one point and asks himself "Did he have a mother?" as he scratches his head with his wing. He then reassures himself by saying "I did have a mother, I know I did. I have to find her. I will. I WILL!" This for me teaches children not to give up if they do not succeed straight away and perseverence pays off when the two are lovingly reunited at the end of the book.

If you have read any of the Dr Seuss books and want to give this one a try you can find it in many online stores such as Amazon or even Tesco for around £4. Happy reading.

If you want to see any of the characters from the book there are pictures to accompany this review on Ciao.

Summary: Can't go wrong with this one.