How (not) to annoy mum by Dave Hughes and Holly Ife. Illus. by Heath McKenzie

This is a sequel to the previously published How (Not) to Annoy Dad. The koala family are back and this time they are spending the day (not) annoying Mum. They are helping her have a relaxing morning (waking her up and asking her to help with homework), getting themselves ready for school (refusing the offered lunch snacks and losing shoes) and being good in the car (yelling about the song choice and finding mouldy sandwiches in the seats). And so it continues, for the entirety of the day: disrupting her when she is trying to work, whinging and nagging in the supermarket, (not) helping look after the dog, (not) eating their dinner, etc, etc.

Parents and children will find this ridiculously, laughably relatable. The Zoom meeting interrupted by the "I just did the BIGGEST POO" assertion is perfectly and hilariously illustrated by the ever-dependable Heath McKenzie. The outlandish requests, the nonsensical protests and the exasperating comments; it's all captured beautifully in both the text (mostly child dialogue) and the illustrations. It is also clever that the ever-suffering Mum and Dad are completely silent: scrambling and facially emotive but silent. There is finally a smile from Mum at the end when the children make her a card and a cake and pick her some flowers (albeit also making a gigantic mess) alongside the reassurance that "Mum thinks you're perfect. Just the way you are". This captures and normalises the daily and shared frustrations of parenting but champions the overall joy of family. Kids will think the disconnect between the instructive elements of the book and what the children are actually doing is outrageously funny. And no doubt they will say "I don't do that!" 

Themes: Family, Humourous stories.

Nicole Nelson