Recommendations:
- Listed 22nd in Educator’s Top 11 Children’s Books 2007 NEA Survey
- Children’s Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 H.W. Wilson
- Children’s Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006 H.W. Wilson
- Listed in Children’s Core Collection (H.W. Wilson) as “Most highly recommended.“[1]
- The book was also listed in Children's Catalog for several years
Initial Commentary:
Reviews and Respective Commentary:
- Both of the latter books were praised by teachers for telling interesting stories with a very small number of words, making them ideal for children just learning to read. In Are You My Mother?, a newly hatched bird, who has never seen his mother, sets out to find her, asking everyone he meets, "Are you my mother?" He cannot fly, so he must walk. His journey takes a long time--61 pages, several times longer than most books for young children--but he eventually arrives back at his nest, with his real mother. Despite this book's "considerable length . . . many children want it read again and again"[2]
- "This story has been around for forty-five years and has not lost its appeal. A little baby bird falls out of its nest and asks a number of the animals that it meets if they are its mother. Each in turns replies that he or she is not and that they are a kitten, dog, hen or cow. Baby bird is attached to a ribbon and can be removed from the nest. When he reaches the steam shovel which he calls Snort, baby bird can be inserted into the shovel as it lifts the bird up, up, up and back into its nest. There is a slot under mama bird’s wing to slide the little baby bird. This cloth book will be perfect for little ones new to the story and will also engage motor skills as they try to put baby bird in all of the right places." - Marilyn Courtot [3]
- "In P.D. Eastman's classic Are You My Mother?, a baby bird sets out to find his unknown mom, asking the title's question of all he meets--kitten, dog, boat, even a bulldozer. The illustrations capture both the humor and poignancy of the quest, which speaks reassuringly to many children's worries about parental loss. As kids, my siblings and I wanted to hear this story again and again." - Mary Quattlebaum [4]
- This is the 25th anniversary edition of a book countless preschoolers want to hear again and again and again; some authorities have been bewildered by the appeal of this easy-read book; some consider it downright silly. But the fact is Are You My Mother? opens up a question that many young children worry about. As the little bird goes from kitten to hen to a car to a boat, the young readers cheer him on. They appreciate that while the newly hatched little bird may not be sure what his mother looks like, his persistence in finding this important person is admirable. Furthermore, the book invites many opportunities for conversation as the children explain differences between the various candidates for motherhood and baby bird, or as they share experiences about times when they may have missed or lost their mother, only to be lovingly reunited." - Mary Hynes-Berry [5]
- This substantial review discusses both the book’s “subjective appeal” and “developmental value.” The author writes, “In short, Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman is a funny, compelling, and developmentally valuable picture book that I heartily recommend.”
Publishers Weekly, Septempter 28, 1998. v245, p. 103.
Amazon Reviews
[1] Eastman, P. D. (Philip D.). Are you my mother?. n.p.: Beginner Bks., 1960. Children's Core Collection (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed March 24, 2015).
[2] "P(hilip) D(ey) Eastman." Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
[3]"Are You My Mother?" Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, (accessed March 18, 2015) http://www.clcd.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/#/bookdetail/1/0/lfNSkhiNjQJPlnNm/bdrtop.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.