Dear Mum, I Love You

Dear Mum, I Love You by Ed Allen, Illustrated by Simon Williams (Scholastic Australia)

HB RRP $16.99

ISBN 978-1-74362-632-0

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

There is only one thing cuter than baby animals – that’s baby animals writing letters of thanks and love to their mothers. And along with fabulous illustrations, this sweet book out just in time for Mother's Day is filled with both.

Each page features a different animal with its own special letter of appreciation to Mum. Baby Elephant loves the way his mum splashes him in the bath, Baby Cheetah wants to be a champion runner just like his mum and Baby Koala loves the cuddly snoozes he and his mum take together.  The thanks each child expresses are specific to their situations, yet they could also apply to anyone who reads this book and children will recognise and understand these qualities within themselves and their mothers.

Children will also enjoy ‘finding’ the letters. Some are on the page but many are beneath flaps or inside envelopes.

The illustrations are colourful, fun and full of cheeky humour. Williams captures the playfulness of the mother/child relationships which helps this picture book avoid becoming overly sweet. There are adventurous ducks, a wonderful  rabbit burrow fill of baby bunnies with separate personalities and an echidna family with a great twist on mum finding baby's soft toy (it's stuck on the spikes of Dad's bottom - Mum's eye rolling is fabulous).

Dear Mum, I Love You is a great book for parents, grandparents and older siblings to share with young children. It will generate conversations about the feelings expressed within the book and children can also create their own Dear Mum letter on the blank one, helpfully provided in an envelope on the last page.