posted on 26 Jun 2019

My Mums A Bug-Eyed Monster by Andy Rigden, illustrated by Jim Landen

Children often like their mothers to be inconspicuous and conventional, perhaps to avoid being picked on or ridiculed by their peers because their mom looks too different. This is an understandable concern, but it is also good to be aware that everyone's mother is unusual in some way and will have endearing qualities that make her special. Just like everyone else, they come in all shapes and sizes, although it must be said that not many have gorilla arms that reach below their knees!

This colourful rhyming story introduces us on the cover to a friendly looking pink(ish) mother who is in fact a bug-eyed monster with long arms and plenty of unusual talents:

‘She’s wider than a wardrobe

And can pull up tiny trees.’

I like the fact that she is obviously rather clumsy, crashing about the house ‘like a baby elephant’. But when out in public, it seems that she creates a sensation with people often staring and sniggering. Her child seems wearily philosophical about all this until his friend Harvey reacts badly when he sees her doing her beauty routine that includes face cream and cucumber slices. This seems to be a step too far! This makes the narrator feel very anxious about how other children might respond when she comes to the school Sports Day:

‘I imagined my fiends fainting.

I saw some mums turn and flee.

I pictured my class teacher,

Hiding half way up a tree.'

But it turns out that looks don’t matter so much after all and she is a big hit when she tells stories and even dances. She is even good in the egg and spoon race. But his proudest moment is when she excels herself in the wellie throwing competition using those unusually long arms. She quickly becomes a national phenomenon and then an international news sensation as one wellie travels thousands of miles across many countries. Her final record breaking throw surpasses all expectations when it is spotted in space orbiting the earth!

The next day everyone at school showers her child with attention and even Harvey wishes that he could have such an unusual mum. But she is ‘not for sharing’ and the final double page spread shows us why.

The power of how this extraordinary incident was a turning point in moving from feelings of deep embarrassment to pride is suitably endorsed on the back page by several famous personalities such as Frank N. Stein:

‘ I confess. I blubbed. It brought back so many memories’.

I am sure that this witty picture book will delight young readers as well as making them think about the dangers of not judging people by appearances.

 

Karen Argent

June 2019