Big Momma Makes the World [Hardcover]

Phyllis Root (Author), Helen Oxenbury (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2002 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (Awards)

Powerful, warm, and utterly original, this no-nonsense tall tale of Big Momma the creator is a jubilant celebration of our beautiful world - and a reminder to take good care of it.


"Earth," said Big Momma, "Get over here."
And it did.
All one big ball of mud it was,
nothing much to look at.
Baby liked it all right just the way it was,
but Big Momma wasn’t finished yet.

When Big Momma makes the world, she doesn’t mess around. With a little baby on her hip and laundry piling up, she demands light and dark, earth and sky, creepers and crawlers, and lots of folks to trade stories with on the front porch. And when the work is done, Big Momma, she is pleased all right. "That’s good," she says. "That’s real good."

With down-home language and infectious rhythms, storyteller Phyllis Root spins a creation myth like no other, brilliantly illustrated by the incomparable Helen Oxenbury.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sassy creation myth that tweaks the first chapter of Genesis, Big Momma "roll[s] up her sleeves" and gets down to business ("Wasn't easy, either, with that little baby sitting on her hip"). " `Light,' said Big Momma. And you better believe there was light.' " Here Oxenbury shows mother and child jubilantly emerging from a watery world ("There was water, water everywhere") to greet the light at the surface. At the close of each day, a pleased Big Momma views her handiwork and pronounces a refrain that echoes the King James Bible "That's good. That's real good." On the sixth day, in a sly nod to another take on the world's beginnings, Big Momma "finish[es] things off in one big bang"-fashioning a host of creatures. As a final touch, the matriarch uses "leftover mud" to shape "some folks to keep me company" and charges them with caring for her creation. Root infuses her tale with a joyful spirit, and her lyrical vernacular trips off the tongue. Zaftig Big Momma and her chubby cherub are equally winning, and Oxenbury playfully tracks the creation process with compositions that move through subtle shades of blue and black and then transform with the addition of the golden shades of sunshine, the verdant greens of earth and an explosion of hues as birds, fish and more multiply across the pages. A gentle spin on the Genesis story sure to get youngsters talking. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. A raucous, joyous version of the creation story starring a big, bossy woman who knows what she wants and how to get it: "When Big Momma made the world, she didn't mess around." Down in the infinite water, her naked little baby on her hip, she sees what needs to be done: "Light," says Big Momma. "And you'd better believe there was light." She also creates dark on the first day, and for the next five days she's one busy lady. Sky, sun, moon, earth, flora, and fauna--there's so much to do, and after she does it, Big Momma always says approvingly, "That's good. That's real good." On the seventh day she rests, leaving the world to its own devices, though sometimes she looks down and tells her final creation--humans--that they'd "better straighten up." Sometimes, when she and baby look down, they like what they see. Root's text is strong and sassy, with a down-home cadence that has immediate appeal, and Oxenbury's Big Momma is the perfect embodiment of the story's earth mother--no particular race or color, just full of affection and determination. Some of the pictures are wonderful (a double-page spread of animals bursting out of the sun); some, such as the one of modern-day humans looking up at the sky, are more mundane. Yet overall, this is an exciting, new version of one of the world's oldest stories. And the baby is pretty cute, too. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (November 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763611328
• ISBN-13: 978-0763611323
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 0.4 x 11.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #586,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Phyllis Root has written many award-winning books for children, including TEN SLEEPY SHEEP, OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY, ONE DUCK STUCK, WHAT BABY WANTS, RATTLETRAP CAR, and BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, winner of the BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's real good, but not very very good! (I'll explain!), April 25, 2005

By 

alexxcz "alexxcz" (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Momma Makes the World (Hardcover)

I stumbled upon this book in the library and was charmed by this feminist revision to the usual Genesis story. It takes the Judeo-Christian creation tale, and both makes God a woman, ands tells the tale in a charming folksy Southern drawl that had me and my kids chuckling away. "That's good, that's real good!" the great Mother says of her handiwork.

I was surprised when I tried to buy the book off of Amazon, and got a completely different story without the fun Southern drawl! (Same pictures, different text!) I realized that Ms. Root must have written a British version of the story where a snappy Goddess proclaims "That's good, that's very very good!" among other Britishisms. This version was called "Big Mama makes the world" and I just want to warn those buying books to make sure they get the version they are hoping for. Neither of the books hints at the existence of the other.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That's good, that's real good...., April 21, 2003

By 

Elizabeth Bennett (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Momma Makes the World (Hardcover)

This fabulous version of the creation story/myth has my almost three-year-old mezmerized. Big Momma, part goddess, part buddha (as admitted by the illustrator) single-handedly makes the world (although her dishes and laundry do pile up in the process). Her daily accomplishments mirror the Genesis story of creation but with a Root-endowed Southern drawl. If you are able to appreciate the gender change, this is a lovely, refreshing version of creation your child is sure to love. It is well-written and beautifully illustrated.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theological rich, not misleading., December 3, 2006

By 

helena "theology prof" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Momma Makes the World (Hardcover)

I am disappointed by the reviews that disparage this book. As someone trained in theology and deeply committed to a community of faith, I was encouraged to find a children's book that engaged theological questions, inviting young children to ask really powerful questions. I gave this to my five year old niece, and I have had the most compelling theological discussions with her after nighttime readings. The power of this book (beyond the illustrations) is its invitation. It does not aim at indoctrinating; instead, it demands something of the parent/person reading, something that perhaps the 'negative reviewers' do not want to do--think the big theological questions alongside their children.