What's Special About Me, Mama?

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What's Special About Me, Mama? was written by Kristina Evans and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. It was published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers in February 22, 2011 for the first edition. This 32 pages long book is appropriate for the children from 3-6 years old. It item Weight is 12 ounces and the dimensions is 10.38 x 0.38 x 8.38 inches.[1]

Summary

This story tells about a boy who wonders what exactly makes him unique among everyone else in his family. In rhythmically written, comforting answers, Mama lists his many wonderful traits, both physical attributes and behavior. Her son thinks all of those qualities are just little things until Mama explains that there is nothing little about love. This tender conversation between a parent and child is illustrated with bright and bold collage artwork portraying racial diversity. Together Kristina Evans and Javaka Steptoe have made an affirming book that will stand out among other "I love you" offerings.[2]

Pros

The child is questioning what makes him special and unique to his mother. His mother comes up with a variety of characteristics of the boy that she believes makes him special, such as his skin, the way the colors blend together to make autumn earth, and his hands, which always help in the kitchen. Every time mother comes up with a new characteristic, though, he argues that they are not that special. Such as when she stated that he is special for his hands that help in the kitchen, he retorts that he too little to use the stove and can only mix things. Or, when she compliments his skin, he says it is not special because he shares the same skin color as his father. Mother finally explains that he is special because he is loved beyond belief by her, and that love is very important and powerful. The major themes of the story are the power of a parent's love, and to cherish young children's qualities and characteristics.

A reader named Emily Pozzi rated this book five stars and explained the reason why this book deserved the five stars rating. She loved the theme that the family is drawn as a mixed-race family, and the child is cherished for his skin color that is a mix of various colors. She recommends this story because she believes that this story recognizes how important it is for children to be cherished and affirmed through words during early development for their social and emotional development.[3]

Tasha, one of the readers said that the beautiful words by Evans have a rhythmic quality to them, a to and fro that works especially well here. The conversation has its own ebb and flow, and then the mother speaks in a poetic and joyous way about her son. It is a book that really speaks to the worth and special qualities of all children, but also of this specific one. Steptoe’s illustrations are done in collage and feature many different shades of skin in the same family. The illustrations have bold colors and strong lines. Done in crinkled paper, they have a texture and heft to them that is gorgeous. The last reader who gave comments was Alexandria Owens, she mentioned that this book is a good book to use for social emotion lesson. She liked how this book deals with social or emotional. The little boy in this book asked his mom questions about what made him so special. She thought this is a really good book to help children build up self-esteem and learn to embrace everything about what makes him or her special. In the book, the little boy's mom helps her son see how special he is and lets him know that he does not need to compare himself to others.[3]

According to Publishers Weekly, Steptoe's collages show a quizzical boy with a face full of freckles and a family that cherishes him. Their pictures of the boy nestled in his parents' arms reinforce the image of a family whose affection is generously given.[4]

References

  1. What's Special About Me, Mama?. amazon.com. Retrieved January 31st, 2021.
  2. What's Special About Me, Mama?. Retrieved January 31th, 2021
  3. 3.0 3.1 What's Special About Me, Mama?. goodreads.com. Reader's review. Retrieved January 31th, 2021.
  4. What's Special About Me, Mama?. publishersweekly.com. Retrieved January 31th, 2021