Who’s Your Real Mum?

Elvi has two mums, and her best friend, Nicholas, wants to know which one is her real mum. Elvi is a clever lass, and she finds ways to answer Nicholas’s question without going against her solid knowledge that both her mums are real. He persists in his questions, though: ‘Only the one who had you in her tummy can be your real mum’, he says. Elvi then reverts to her good imagination. Her real mum is the one who can ‘pull a car with her teeth…who is a pirate…who crochets hammocks for polar bears…’ and so it goes while Nicholas becomes more and more fed up while Elvi is clearly pleased with herself. She finally must take the question seriously, though, and her answer is quite perfect. Her real mum is the one who gives her cuddles when she’s frightened, the one who tucks her up in bed, and the one who gives her kisses at bedtime. Nicholas is perturbed: surely they both do those things? And Elvi gives the perfect answer: ‘Exactly’! Glowing illustrations in gold and rust and shades of orange and brown (this is a mixed race family) are warm and inviting, and the expressions on the children’s faces are a joy. This picture book will add a tremendous fillip to children’s understanding of families who are perhaps different from their own but who share the love that all families do. Quite outstanding.