MUMMY & ME

Mohiuddin pays homage to the loving bond between parent and child.

A “wee wolf” and its mother—a literal mummy—frolic at night. Awakening from a “good day’s sleep,” they rise from their casket bed. Wolf helps Mummy prepare lunch: midnight stew, filled with bones and eyeballs. “I try to be a perfectly well-behaved monster for Mummy,” Wolf tells us. “I use my indoor voice. I have excellent table manners.” (The rollicking illustrations clearly reveal otherwise.) Like all kids and parents, Wolf and Mummy do have fractious moments, but music soothes their conflicts. Finally, at dawn, Mummy announces that it’s bedtime. Time to clean up messes, brush teeth, and bathe. Naturally, Mummy reads Wolf a story: Hairy Tales. Wolf falls asleep knowing that no matter what, Mummy will always be there, providing love and support. Wolf wants to be just like Mummy one day “and do all of the most Mummy things there are to do.” And on nights when she’s “feeling a little undone…I will always be there, too.” This sweet, knowing, tongue-in-cheek nod to a genuinely loving parent-child relationship, written from the youngster’s perspective, will leave readers smiling. The real draw is the crisp, dynamic artwork, filled with very witty, nonfrightening yet monstrous details. Wolf is endearing; Mummy is very loosely bandaged and has yellow, glowing eyes.

Pure fun and proof that kids can sometimes be monsters, but we (usually) wouldn’t have it any other way.