Are You My Mother? by P.D.Eastman

Title: Are You My Mother?

Author/Illustrator: P.D.Eastman

Reading Level: Ages 2 - 6

Hardcover: 72 Pages

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

A mother bird flies away from her nest in search of food anticipating the arrival of her newborn baby. While she is away, the egg hatches and out comes the baby bird! He looks up and down searching for his mother, but she is not to be found anywhere. He decides to take matters in his own hands and goes out looking for her. He didn't know what she looked like, so he walks right past her. "Are You My Mother?", he asks the kitten, hen, dog and cow who pass by, but they aren't. He even wonders if the broken car, the sailing boat or the flying plane could be his mother. Finally, a steam shovel drops him back in his nest just when the mother bird flies back home with food in her beak.  

If you like Dr. Seuss books, I'm sure you would love books by P.D. Eastman. His illustrations are fun, simple and adorable. Millions of little readers have been captivated by this classic story book. It took my daughter a couple of reads to actually get her interested in this book. We have read it many times now and she feels intrigued by the story every time we read it. Mostly, she couldn't wait to see what happens at the end, so we almost always skip a few pages in the middle, to get to the end. She flashes a cheerful smile when she finds the baby bird uniting with his mother. The book also provides ample opportunities for the parents to mimic various animal sounds. The story builds up enough anticipation even the squirmy readers would sit through the book to find out how it all ends. Well, if you think about it, you will realize that it could be scary for a little one to wake up and not find his/her mother near by. No wonder they feel intrigued by the brave little bird who finds himself in such predicament. With the happy ending, they would feel reassured that no matter what, a mother always returns to her baby and loves her more than anything else. I think its a terrific message you ought to share with your baby! 

My Rating: 4.5/5