MOM AND ME, ME AND MOM

Tanco follows his odes to father-child and brother-brother relationships (You and Me, Me and You: Brothers, 2018, etc.) with this one dedicated to mothers and children.

As in his previous titles, the author keeps readers on their toes with the page turn. The tiny tyke in these pages tests both her mother’s flexibility (standing on her leg as the mom does an inverted yoga pose) and, on the next page, her reflexes (mom dodges a kicked ball). Every parent will relate to at least a few of the scenarios presented here: Children certainly show their parents a new sense of style, notice things they do not (the museum’s water cooler rather than the art), and follow their lead (the two read back to back in the grass), and they do have a way of improving the mood after a long day of work. But one line spoken by the child narrator rings concerning: “I…keep your secrets safe.” Pops of orangey-red are the only spots of color, the rest black or gray against mostly white pages. Whereas the child in You and Me, Me and You, concerning fathers, was largely ungendered, the child here wears a dress and a girl’s bathing suit. Mother and daughter resemble each other, with red-outlined curly/scribbly hair and pointy noses. Both are paper-white.

Tanco mostly nails it: Life is about the little things, which add up to time spent together, and what’s more important than that? (Picture book. 3-6)