Big Momma Makes the World (Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (Awards))

Rating:
Summary: Your momma don't dance...
Review: I've read some pretty fabulous books illustrated by Helen Oxenbury in my day. She's one of those rare artists that pay close attention to fine incomparable details. As for author Phyllis Root, I'd not had the pleasure of reading one her tales until I picked up "Big Momma Makes the World". Now I read reviews and descriptions of this book long before I saw it myself. These reviews would summarize the plot and even lift enjoyable passages from the text. I liked what I read and I liked that the reviewers liked what they read. It was with the greatest shock imaginable that I finally located this book and found, to my amazement, that Big Momma was a big white chick. Hunhuna? Now you might think it a bit prejudiced of me to have leapt to the conclusion that Big Momma, the godlike figure in this tale, was black but that's exactly what I did.

This story is a creation tale in its own right. In it, we follow Big Momma and her little baby as she creates a whole new world. She starts just like you'd expect a godlike figure to start. First there's water, then light, then dark. She makes the sun and the moon, "just in time for the little baby's nap", and then makes the earth itself. Then it's time to make fish and birds and (because the laundry started piling up) the rest of the animals are made with one Big Bang. Still, Big Momma is lonely and she has no one to talk to on her front porch at night. So out of the leftover mud comes a swarm of naked people (done in a tasteful style that is more than a little reminiscent of the late lamented Walt Kelly). In time, she takes her baby up with her into the sky and tells everyone in the world to behave because, "I'll be keeping an eye on you". And from time to time she still does. She and that little baby of hers.

Now Phyllis Root notes in her blurb that this story came out of a family car trip where she would tell Big Momma tales to entertain her kids. The story in and of itself has a swell feel to it. A kind of easy going vernacular that reminded me (in a way) of "Swamp Angel" by Anne Isaacs. The fact that the character is white confused me originally but I recovered. I suppose God could be a white woman too. Why not? But though I think Oxenbury threw everything she had into this tale, the pictures didn't spellbind me like her other books did. The baby in the story looked as if it had crawled straight out of her, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". And though the animals are cute, they're nothing compared to her illustrations for the brilliant, "Farmer Duck" (written by M. Waddell). Though she's tossed every trick she has into its creation (the colors in this story are alone worth the price of admission) I had the nagging feeling that something was missing. I dunno.

I can see people becoming violent over this tale for a variety of different reasons. Some people are going to fall head-over-heels in love with it. They'll rejoice in the illustrations, the excellent text, and the progressive idea of a single mom creating the world (a thought I rather like too). Other people will recoil at the idea of God being reduced (in their eyes) to something so new and different. I personally had my expectations raised a little too high by Oxenbury's other books, so my own view of the story is slightly tainted. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book to read to little ones that need a benevolent creator in their lives. A highly entertaining and interesting lark.

Rating:
Summary: Time to Accept It--God is a Woman
Review: The author and illustrator of this book do a masterful job of conveying a contemporary feminist spiritual message without becoming preachy or pedantic, thus making the story very appealing to children of all ages. The text rolls off the tongue with a poetic fluidity and the paintings are so engaging that you will find yourself reading this book to your little ones again and again.

Rating:
Summary: That's good, that's real good....
Review: 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.