A young swallow named Gabriel comforts his mother after the loss of her egg in this French-Canadian picture-book, published by the Montreal-based CrackBoom! Books. Although disappointed that he won't have the younger sibling he wanted, Gabriel knows his mother is also grieving, and he leads her on a flight over the nearby landscape, in an effort to lift her spirits...

Originally published as Maman hirondelle (literally, "Mommy Swallow"), Mama Bird Lost an Egg is a book I sought out largely because it was published by small, independent press, whose children's catalogue seems to include a number of interesting picture-books translated from languages other than English. It is the first children's book I have ever encountered that seeks to address the topic of miscarriage, and was quite fascinating, as a result. I appreciate the fact that Evelyne Fournier wanted to explore this topic, as I can imagine that quite a few children will have experienced such a loss, through the miscarriage of their expected younger siblings, and stories that represent this reality seem few and far between. That said, I found the narrative here somewhat odd, and the text itself rather awkward. The latter I put down partially to translation - stray prepositions where they don't belong, and so on - and partially to the writing itself. What does it mean, to make someone's tears "take flight?" The story strikes me as having its heart in the right place, and seems to be attempting to show young children that they are not alone in their loss and disappointment - their mothers are also grieving - and to encourage them to offer comfort. I see that a number of readers are uncomfortable with the latter, feeling that it places the responsibility for the mother's welfare on the child's head. I myself didn't interpret it this way, and think it simply conveys a basic truth to children: other people suffer as well, and we can offer them solace, even in the midst of our own grief. This doesn't strike me as any less true, simply because the others in question are adults. What does disturb me is that the mother swallow seems so easily comforted, as I think this raises unrealistic expectations, and promotes the idea (no doubt unintentionally) that if we simply find the right words or actions, we can "solve" the "problem" of grief. I was also somewhat disturbed to see no father in the picture, as I thought this was a lost opportunity, when it came to promoting the idea that everyone in the family is effected by something like miscarriage.

I can imagine that such a topic as miscarriage would be a very difficult one to explore adequately, in the picture-book form. I have no real ideas of how it should be done, and applaud the author for her effort. In the end though, I didn't find the story successful, and while I enjoyed Chloloula's accompanying artwork, I don't really recommend the book. I will have to see if I can find others children's stories with this theme. ( )