My marvellous Mum by Susannah McFarlane

Ill. by Lachlan Creagh. Little Mates (Series). Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 1 74283 224 1.
Picture book. Mother's Day. For the very young, this homage to mothers in the animal world has parallels to mothers in the human world, as two small animals have words to say about their fabulous mothers. The repetition of words beginning with M, is infectious, and listeners will have a fun time thinking what the next adjective might be in describing the attributes of the mothers portrayed. Max's Mum is miraculous because she is able to mend machines, while Matilda's Mum never misses a match, and can make her hurts go away. Each page has a positive attribute of the two mothers, ending with the annual Mother's Day picnic where, of course, all the things to eat begin with M.
The illustrations of the koalas and possums and their M words are cutely drawn and will encourage readers to look and laugh and predict, adding another to the Scholastic series of alphabet books for the young.
Fran Knight