Synopsis
A mother bird leaves her egg in the nest to go look for some food. While she's gone, the egg hatches, and the baby bird sets off to find his mother - but he doesn't know what she looks like. His search leads him to ask a variety of animals and machines, "Are you my mother?" Finally, a crane deposits him back in his nest, where his mother is waiting. Just the right amount of tension and the happy and secure ending make this an extremely popular story.
Children's Literature
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. Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry