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My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me
by Julianne Moore
Meilo So, illustrator
Chronicle Books
Inside Jacket: I call her “Mom” in public, but that’s not her REAL name. It’s Mutti, Mamma, Mummy, MAMAN.
When your mom is from another country, your life might be a little different from your friends’. Maybe your mom speaks with an accent, fills your lunch with funny foods, or wears strange clothes. Perhaps she doesn’t look like you or she sings funny songs. But as all kids with foreign moms know, what makes their moms different is also what makes them the best.
Opening: My Mom is a foreigner, she’s from another place. She came when she was ten years old, with only one suitcase.
About the Story: Everyone has a mom, but not everyone’s mom was born in the same country as her children. Some moms are foreign and many of the things they do are weird. In fact, many of the things foreign moms are embarrassing. Some moms call their child a foreign nickname when other kids are around. Who would want to be called “Wee One,” or “bébé,” or Mon Petit Chou?”
My Mom is a Foreigner, But Not Me explains all the ways foreign moms embarrass their child at school, while they play, and when they are out and about. But not everything is bad and the narrator admits this. There are wonderful things only a foreign mother does. Things like sing foreign songs, cook foreign foods—sometimes great tasting and sometimes blah—and they have a special name, not just generic “Mom,”
Mutti, Mamma, Mummy, Maman
The narrator talks of special holidays and festivals. There is a match-up game where you must match the name of the holiday to the symbol that represents the holiday. And in the end, the narrator shares something special.
What I Thought: Honestly, I had my reservations about this picture book. I am not a fan of celebrity books. The book is also a larger sized book and it felt top-heavy. Once I opened My Mom is a Foreigner, But Not Me it became clear I had harshly prejudged this beautiful picture book. The watercolor, ink, gouache, and pencil illustrations are soft vignettes of life with mom. The pages are thick and difficult to tear. Unlike most thick picture book pages, which tend to have a glossy, no-sticky-fingers-finish, these pages have a soft matte finish.
The nicknames are funny. As the kids play, mom is off to the side cheering her child on, calling him by her native endearments. To the kids the words sound weird, more like odd sounds than words. With foreign moms packing soup for school lunches, insisting shoes come off upon entering a threshold, and themselves wearing funny-looking clothes, it would seem foreign moms do not understand their child’s world. Yet, despite the children’s complaints, they would never want any other mom.
I love how despite the kids’ continued embarrassment—while mom learns the “new social rules”—these kids know that mom understands the most important job she will ever have–is the care of their child,
“from my head down to my toes.”
I am glad I decided to review this “celebrity picture book” despite my personal reservations. My Mom is a Foreigner, But Not Me is a joyful and gorgeous book that celebrates the most important person in most everyone’s life. My Mom is a Foreigner, But Not Me would make a tear-inducing Mother’s Day gift, though I think moms will be pleased to receive this book as a gift any time of the year.
Kids will like this book for the foreign words, but mostly because of the book’s sentiment for mothers. Young children (age 4 to 8), seem to like learning foreign words and using them. This same age group tends to be very fond of their mother and will like reading a book that celebrates their MIP (Most Important Person), which gives them several new ways of saying “I love you, Mommy.” The last spread, a bedtime scene spread throughout an apartment building, deeply touched.
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My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me
by Julianne Moore website facebook twitter
Meilo So, illustrator website blog
Chronicle Books website blog facebook twitter
Released September 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0792-9
40 pages
Age 5 to 8
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© 2013 by Chronicle Books, used with permission
Text copyright © 2913 by Julianne Moore
Illustrations © 2013 by Meilo So
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This sounds like a wonderful book. My Mom isn’t foreign, although, I still think she would LOVE this book. 🙂
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I agree. I think any mother would love this book. Foreign or not, the message is there. Besides, what mother (or father), doesn’t act like they are from another planet once in a while . . . when the kid is age 13 through 17. 🙂
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Oh, that’s FUNNY, Sue! lol
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Good thing I’m not there [yet]! 😀
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Baby, you have been there for several years now.
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I read this a couple of weeks back. I liked the idea, but wasn’t crazy about the execution. I think it was the illustrations mostly. Sorry, Julianne!
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I think the illustrations were trying to bring the foreignness across and thought it did a good job doing so. I wish I had all these comments before I reviewed. EVery comment reminds me of something I should have said.
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I think this looks pretty cute. I am familiar with some foreign moms and the book seems to have a pretty authentic take on the matter. I’ll have to check this one out. Thanks!
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Rhythm, you know some foreign moms? Do you teach English as a Second Language in addition to reading to kids? You are one multi-faceted pooch, my friend. 😀 This is based on the author’s childhood with “foreign” parents.
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Sounds good. I had reservations, too – as soon as I saw the author’s name.
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There is always going to be one celebrity that will actually write a good story. I always wonder about ghostwriters. I do not think this was ghostwritten.
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