Mums often hear the sentiment, ‘You’re the best, Mum!’ from their adoring offspring. The unconditional
love youngsters possess for their mothers, is the stuff the best heart-tugging
movies and tear-jerking works of fiction are made of, almost too good to be
true let alone believe. When you’re having frumpy day, a child’s sweet conviction that you are the most divine creature on earth can buoy you past the thermosphere, which is to say, very very high up.
But is this because of the way we make them feel? And if
so, what innocent acts of lovingness incite such strong bonds between a mother
and her child? The answers snuggle delightfully between the covers of Charles
Fuge’s latest Little
Wombat picture book, You’re the Best
Mum!
Voiced in lilting first person rhyming verse, Little Wombat describes all the best bits about his mum, from the minute he wakes up to the moment he rests his weary head against her chest. Thankfully the anthropomorphic attributes such as hair brushing are kept to a bare minimum; Fuge’s soft-toned water coloured illustrations are more than enough to convey the affectionate relationship between mother and offspring.
Mum is there through Little Wombat’s day, all day,
every day, guiding him, teaching him. Like many mums, she has the ability to
ground and comfort, nurture and astound. She is a full time playmate, a joker, a
clown but still someone he can turn to when things get scary and life gets him
down. In short, his mum is like a big beautiful band-aid, the special colourful
kind that always takes away the hurt and replaces it with smiles, which feature
extensively throughout this book.
I love the light and shade Fuge employs in Little
Wombat’s story along with the cute additions of some iconic Aussie creatures.
There’s even a pair of Budgies! You’re The
Best, Mum! is not just an endearing picture book that is more than at home
as a bedtime story but also a loving affirmation of the quality of motherhood
and the profound relationship between mother and child.
Be sure to enter our Mother’s
Day Giveaway competition, open until Saturday 8 May, for your chance to win
a copy of this special new release.
Title: You’re The Best, Mum!
Author / Illustrator: Charles Fuge
Publisher: Walker Books Australia $24.99
Publication Date: April 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760652296
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book
