Are you my mother? (Are You My Mother - P.D. Eastman)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Are You My Mother - P.D. Eastman
Date:	18/03/07 (1646 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: super book for toddlers and young readers

Disadvantages: None

Are you my mother is a children’s book a lot of you will have read as it was first published in June 1960. I certainly have read it to well over 100 children.
Are you my mother was written by Phillip Dey. (P. D.) Eastman and published by Random House? ISBN: 0394800184. P. d. Eastman an American from Massachusetts was born1909 died 1986. In World War 2 he worked on training film and has worked as a screen writer for Disney and Warner brothers, has written for the animated Mr magoo films, he has also written several children’s books. This book is written and in a similar format to Dr Seuss books. It is one of the Dr Seuss series called beginner books.

This book is suitable for children aged about 3 to 8 years old for foundation stage or key stage one readers. This book is great fun to read aloud to children and soon your young child will be able to “read” this by him/herself as the words are repetitive and fun. I know my daughter knew this book by heart when she was about 3 or 4.

This story is I think one that is suitable for this time of year as it is mother’s day and also it is spring and young animals are born. You could also use this when doing a project on homes
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The story starts about a baby bird that hatches from an egg while mother bird is away and the chick falls out of his nest. The illustrations are good , quite fun , the little chick who falls out of the nest is really a scrawny chick not a fluffy Easter chick , all P .D. Eastman’s animal’s have character .

A cow , a dog , a kitten ,and a hen, pass by baby bird and he asks them all in turn “Are you my mother? " . Poor chick gets quite desperate asks a boat and a plane "Are you my mother" Then a digger/ bulldozer called Snort is asked are you my mother.

Snort aware of the problem baby bird has lets baby bird climb on to his shovel then he elevates baby bird to the nest and baby bird gets into his nest again. Mummy bird arrives home and is delighted that she has a chick that has hatched from her egg.

This is a really lovely story. The words "Are you my mother" are repeated as is the reply, “no" this helps children pick up and learn the words for reading.
The illustrations are very good too large and simple fun drawings.
The children I have read this too enjoy this story and I am sure this story will be told for many more years.

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The edition of the book I am familiar with is the hard backed edition with paper pages; I think it is available in soft back too. I know there is a board book of this story and also a rag book that has a baby bird attached to the book with a piece of ribbon, the baby bird can then be put in or out of his nest and next to all the animals he meet’s there is a pocket for the diggers shovel and baby bird can be placed in there, This soft material books gives extra play value to the story.


I f you are exploring “who’s baby is it” and life cycles I noticed on line a web page http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/STEPS/STUDENTS/1-2Yea rs/life/mother.htm. This has a game where you click your mouse on animals to find their mothers. I thought it quite good.

The R R P is £4.99. On American Amazon I notice the price of a hardback $51 for a boxed set, a soft back edition $5 .99
In the UK Amazon have the paperback from £1.35

Summary: A story about a chick who falls out of his nest and searches for his mother