cover image Who’s Your Real Mom?

Who’s Your Real Mom?

Bernadette Green, illus. by Anna Zobel. Scribble, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-950354-24-5

This imaginative picture book affirmation of family centers brown-skinned Elvi, who has two mothers. When Elvi’s friend Nicholas asks which of her parents is the “real” one (“Only the one who had you in her tummy can be your real mom.... Which one is that?”), Elvi offers a plethora of whimsical answers: the one who “can do a handstand on one finger,” is “a pirate in disguise,” and “writes in a secret language only whales can read.” When Nicholas insists on knowing the truth, Elvi cleverly reframes the subject, defining her mother in ways every child can understand: “the one who holds me when I’m scared... the one who tucks me into bed,” Green writes. Hatched and stippled textures in ink and marker—layered digitally by Zobel and done in a palette of browns, blues, and goldenrod—offer the illustrations a snug, soft feel. Ages 4–7. (June)