Otter-Barry ISBN 9781910959640 £6.99
Not all mums are the same and not all mums are humans. This collection of poems has an A to Z of a wide variety of them from Action Mum to Zzzz Mum. You will find mums you recognise (I’m afraid I’m the ‘Anxious Mum’! – ‘Don’t forget your toothbrush, darling, take these crisps, in case you’re starving…’). Do you know a ‘Proud Mum’, a ‘No-No Mum’ or ‘Stunt Mother’? There’s a nice balance of rhyming and non-rhyming verses, a good serving of humour, a pinch of poignancy and much food for thought. We may feel ashamed of ourselves for what we have done to our planet when we read ‘Mother Earth’. ‘Dad-Mum’ and ‘Tree Mum’ remind us that not everyone is lucky enough to have a mother, whereas ‘Two Mums’ acknowledges that some children have more than one. Then there’s an ‘Elephant Mother’, a bee mother and Mother Tongue. More than we realised, yes? The author is a performance poet. You can find out more at www.justincoe.co.uk.
Pam Dowson