Product Description

"Charming, vibrant watercolor illustrations expand the simple rhythmic text, adding to the characters' personalities and to the cultural information.--School Library Journal, starred review.Ages 4-8.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22546 in Books
• Published on: 1991-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780877017592
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
This exceptional board-book tells a beautiful and timeless story about a daughter's attempt to find the limit of her mother's love. Barbara Lavallee's exquisite illustrations of Alaska, with their exaggeratedly foreshortened perspective and rich tones of violet, blue-gray, and gray-green, tell of an easy declaration ("I love you more than the raven loves his treasure, more than the dog loves his tail, more than the whale loves his spout") that is pushed, and pushed, and ("What if I put salmon in your parka ... and ermine in your mukluks?") pushed. There's a quiet joyfulness in both the antics of the Inuit mother and daughter and in the animals--including a polar bear and a musk ox--that the daughter imagines she might become. A charming story for mothers and daughters of all ages. (Baby to preschool) --Richard Farr

From Publishers Weekly
A decade ago, PW called Barbara Joosse's Mama, Do You Love Me?, illus. by Barbara Lavallee, "a striking volume which uses a timeless culture to convey a timeless message." Chronicle celebrates the book's success with a 10th anniversary commemorative edition that includes a fabric jacket and a limited edition print of mother and child.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

--SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review
A young girl asks how much her mother loves her, even when she is naughty, and receives warm, reassuring answers. The twist on this familiar theme is that the two are Inuits, and the text and pictures draw on their unique culture: "What if I put salmon in your parka, ermine in your mittens, and lemmings in your mukluks?" asks the girl. Two pages of back matter define and explain the functions of various terms in Inuit life past and present. Charming, vibrant watercolor illustrations expand the simple rhythmic text, adding to the characters' personalities and to the cultural information. Ceremonial masks appear in the corner of several pages and on the endpapers, a nice detail in a well-designed book.

--THE HORN BOOK MAGAZINE, November 1991
"Mama, do you love me?" Every child in the world wants a reassuring answer, including this small Inuit girl in long-ago northern Alaska. In a series of questions and answers reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny(Harper), the child uses her imagination to test her mother's love. The answer is always a positive one, but the mother is also honest. " 'What if I put salmon in your parka, ermine in your mittens, and lemmings in your mukluks?' 'Then I would be angry.' 'What if I threw water at our lamp?' 'Then, Dear One, I would be very angry. But still, I would love you.'" The whale-oil lamp is pictured clearly, and its importance is explained in the two-page glossary at the end of the book: "The lamp in an Inuit home was never left untended because it was such a vital part of daily survival." The rounded, stylized watercolors are brightly appealing, full of humor and love. The small challenger stands with her hands on her hips looking way up at the tall, broad mother who has her hands on her hips; in another picture there is a huge hug which encompasses mother, girl, and doll in a mass of variously flowered dress fabric and black braids. The book is a beautiful combination of a rich culture and a universal theme.

--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, August 1991
"Yes I do, Dear One," answers the mother whose daughter asks her the question posed in the book's title. And how long will she love her child? "I will love you until the umiak flies into the darkness, till the stars turn to fish in the sky, and the puffin howls at the moon," responds the mother soothingly, employing images familiar to the Inuit people of Northern Alaska where this Iyrical story is set. Echoing the simplicity of Joosee's verse are Lavallee's stylized illustrations, which convey the austerity of the arctic landscape while depicting the bright, intricate patterns and textures of Inuit garb. A glossary of terms used in the text is included at the end of this striking volume, which uses a timeless culture to convey a timeless message.

--PARENTS, December 1991
In a story reminiscent of the classic Ruraway Bunny, a child tests her mother's love: "What if I ran away?" she asks. "Then I would be worried," her mother answers."What if I turned into a polar bear, and I was the meanest bear you ever saw. . . and you cried?" says the girl. "Then I would be very surprised and very scared But still . . . I would love you" comes the reassuring reply. The arctic setting adds an intriguing dimension to a universal story.

Customer Reviews

Great Message, Great Book
This story focuses on one simple question that every child thinks at one point or another. The question is whether their parents will always love them no matter what the child does. This story confirms for children young and old, that no matter what they do, their parents (mama) will still love them.

The story is delightfully told from the perspective of the Intuit culture. The mischief the child creates deals with things that are unique to that culture such as accidentally dropping ptarmigan eggs, spilling the oil in the family's lamp, slipping an emrine in mama's mukluks or turning into a Walrus. My son and I enjoy talking about how different cultures live and what they believe and this book has started some fun conversations.

I believe the story does not prompt children into asking the "wrong" question as mentioned in other reviews. The story promotes the idea of a parent's love and acceptance no matter what their little hellion does and does it with a wonderful story and captivating artwork. This has become one of our favorite books.

What every child should know without a doubt!
This is such an awesome book! And even though my daughter is only 32 months old she already asks for this book by name! It's such a simple concept... no matter what you do, your parents love you. It is so important that children know this. Their actions might not be the best but that does not change a parents love for their child.

I love the how each page is just focused on the Mama and her daughter & doll, that the artist choose just to have them alone on the page. I also like seeing different cultures and how they live, I think it is important for our children to see how other children live.

My favorite pages are the last several ones... " What if I turned into a olar bear, and I was the meanest bear you ever saw and I had sharp, sharp teeth, and I chased you into your tentand you cried? Then I would be very surprised and very scared. But still, inside the bear you would be you, and I would love you. I will love you, forever and for always, because you are my Dear One.

Beautiful pictures, wonderful message
I discovered this book at a friend's house. Even thought they had the book for only a few weeks, their five-year old had requested it so often, she already had the entire thing memorized!

The pictures are absolutely beautiful, with wonderful details, and the text brought tears to my eyes. It is a wonderful, honest, reassuring discussion between a mother and child... that even though what the child does may, on occassion, make a parent angry, sad, or frightened, they will always be loved.