Brigitte Sidjanski

SIDJANSKI, Brigitte. Mama’s Favorite. Illus. by Sarah Emmanuelle Burg. unpaged. Penguin Young Readers Group. 2007. $16.99. ISBN978-0-698-40076-4.

Pre-S-2— A little mouse, named Muri, lives with his large family. He wonders if his Mama’s love him as much as the others. Sidjanski tells a simple, yet realistic tale. Muri understands he is no longer the baby nor is he big enough to go far from home yet. During each attempt to get his mother’s attention, Mama explains that she loves Muri. Sidjanski begins with short paragraphs that explain Muri’s concerns about belonging. As Muri’s attempts for Mama’s attention increase and get more involved, Sidjanski’s writing style matches, with longer and more-detailed paragraphs. The vocabulary is not challenging (nonsense and mischievously are the most difficult words) and some readers will notice the repetition of “m” words. The book would be an enjoyable read aloud.
Although the text stands alone, the illustrations make the book beautiful. Burg’s watercolors are detailed and whimsical. Her sandy browns create a warm and earthy setting—at home underground. Not only are Muri and Mama are featured on every page, Burg has centered the main characters throughout. Burg’s humor is evident as she includes Muri’s toys in each scenario responding to Muri’s mood. His doll, also a mouse, often pouts as does Muri. Burg takes the point of view of the story deeper by illustrating each scene from Muri’s height. The grass grows over his head, the laundry on the clothesline is out-of-reach and the cat that frightens Muri takes up an entire page. Burg uses warm tones (honey brown, deep reds, muted orange) during the scenes when the characters are at home and cooler tones (washed-out yellow and spring green) for outdoors. Saving black for the scary cat and pastels for when Mama reassures Muri she loves him very much—as much as her other children. Recommended for libraries with pre-school or art programs.… (altro)