Customer Reviews

Mama, Do You Love Me?

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This story focuses on one simple question that every child thinks at one point or another. The question is whether their parents will always love them no matter what the child does. This story confirms for children young and old, that no matter what they do, their parents (mama) will still love them.

The story is delightfully told from the perspective of the Intuit culture. The mischief the child creates deals with things that are unique to that culture such as accidentally dropping ptarmigan eggs, spilling the oil in the family's lamp, slipping an emrine in mama's mukluks or turning into a Walrus. My son and I enjoy talking about how different cultures live and what they believe and this book has started some fun conversations.

I believe the story does not prompt children into asking the "wrong" question as mentioned in other reviews. The story promotes the idea of a parent's love and acceptance no matter what their little hellion does and does it with a wonderful story and captivating artwork. This has become one of our favorite books.

This is such an awesome book! And even though my daughter is only 32 months old she already asks for this book by name! It's such a simple concept... no matter what you do, your parents love you. It is so important that children know this. Their actions might not be the best but that does not change a parents love for their child.

I love the how each page is just focused on the Mama and her daughter & doll, that the artist choose just to have them alone on the page. I also like seeing different cultures and how they live, I think it is important for our children to see how other children live.

My favorite pages are the last several ones... " What if I turned into a olar bear, and I was the meanest bear you ever saw and I had sharp, sharp teeth, and I chased you into your tentand you cried? Then I would be very surprised and very scared. But still, inside the bear you would be you, and I would love you. I will love you, forever and for always, because you are my Dear One.

This book is one of my favorites for preschoolers (and even for older children--my first grade students enjoyed it, too). To address some of the concerns other reviewers had: this book is about unconditional love--so, yes, the mother continues to love the little girl, regardless of what she does. If you're not teaching your children that you'll love them unconditionally, whether they're good or bad, then this isn't the book for you. And, yes, this book is about another culture--which is what makes it such an invaluable addition to a child's library. The young children I've known have not found the foreign concepts obstacles to understanding what the book is about: love is a universal concept. Your children will learn according to what you expose them to, particularly in the preschool years, when they are constantly expanding their vocabularies and knowledge of the world. To presume that this book (and others like it) will be over children's heads simply because the world is not one with which they are already familiar is to seriously understimate their intelligence! Understanding other cultures lays the groundwork for understanding and appreciating other people, whether they are like you or not--a skill I hope all parents would like to impart to their children.

I discovered this book at a friend's house. Even thought they had the book for only a few weeks, their five-year old had requested it so often, she already had the entire thing memorized!

The pictures are absolutely beautiful, with wonderful details, and the text brought tears to my eyes. It is a wonderful, honest, reassuring discussion between a mother and child... that even though what the child does may, on occassion, make a parent angry, sad, or frightened, they will always be loved.

Reading and re-reading this book with my daughter is one of the most wonderful memories I have of her toddler years. The beautiful artwork coupled with the simple, though satisfying, writing was almost bewitching to us. Years later, my daughter still quotes the book, and it makes me want to cry. This book is a great gift for any mother having a baby.

This book is a favorite! My daughter (now five) loves to hear it over and over again. Since all the words are spoken dialog, I read the mother's lines and she says the daughter's lines. When she was younger, she merely recited the words from memory. Now that she is starting to read, I point to the words as she says them and she looks at the words, too. She is starting to recognize words from the book when she sees them elsewhere.

I also use the story to reinforce my own unconditional love for her. When she is doing something purposefully naughty, I'll say, "Katie, are you putting lemmings in my mukluks?" This usually generates a big grin as she realizes she is being just as silly as the little girl in the story - and that I love her just as much as the mommy in the story!

Yes, this book deals with a mother and her young daughter, but as the mother of two sons, ages 3 and 5, my boys are mesmerized with the beauty of the simplicity, tenderness, and love displayed through the beautiful illustrations and endearing but simple, child-friendly words...thumbs up to both this empathetic author and her talented illustrator!

Let me echo the sentiment that children learn what we teach them; no matter how foreign it may be to us, they can grasp any idea we throw their way. Cultural issues aside, I find this the most touching young children's book I have encountered for its completely unaffected demonstration of motherly affection. And truly, the illustrations enrich the beauty of the text. For the first time in my life I purchased a book for the sole purpose of dismantling it because I wanted a framed image over my daughters' bed daily pronouncing, "I will love you forever and for always because you are my dear one." Always the best gift for new mothers!

"I don't like what you do, but I will always love you, no matter what," my mother sometimes said.

Every child wonders, at times, if her parents love her. It is natural. This book provides necessary reassurance in more poetic language than my Mom's. "I will love you until the umiak flies into darkness, till the stars turn to fish in the sky, and the puffin howls at the moon."

Whether adopted or born to their families, children need to know, "I will love you forever and for always, because you are my dear one."

We have one copy of this special message for each child. Alyssa A. Lappen

I was a little put off by the idea that this is a "great book for mothers and daughters". Just because the child in the story is a girl does not mean that this book is not for boys too. My three year old son loves this book and so do I!