Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

This picture book is illustrated in classic Eric Carle style using cut and paste shapes from finger painted paper. The textures draw the eye and the colors are vivid and bold.

At first I thought, how is this text going to hold my grandchild’s interest? Every page asked “Does a (insert animal name here) have a mother, too? The next page reads, “Yes! A (insert animal name here) has a mother. Just like me and you. I needn’t have worried. Carle tapped into the universal interest of toddlers mothers, animals, repetition, and participation. After the first reading, my granddaughter answered, “Yes!” To every page. She loved the pictures of the animal mother and child. She loved the reassuring tone. And she loved the show more predictability.

The book ends with a page explaining the correct terms for the animal babies, parents, and groups featured in the book. These are lovely tidbits of information to share periodically, in small bites, with toddlers and small children. Adults may be intrigued as well to learn that the father kangaroo is a Boomer, which explains that odd Australian Christmas Carol “Six White Boomers.” I did not know that penguin parents are a dam and a sire or that a swan father is called a cob. I love when the simplest book still has something to teach me. show less

This captivating and heartwarming picture book sweetly answers the question do all of these great animals have mothers? Do they love their babies? Yes of course they do, just as yours loves you!
I think young children would love learning about the names of these animal babies and see the love all mommas have for their babies.

After reading this Eric Carle book, I could tell that it would be a great book for beginning readers to read independently or as a read aloud book for young students. Carle’s signature collage illustrations are something that would be a fun thing for students to try in an artists writers workshop. I think this book highlights the strategy of playing with the font itself, which could be useful. Like many of Carle’s books, its strengths lie in teaching children interesting ways illustrate their writing rather than utilizing interesting or colorful word choice. I could see many interesting ways to use this book in a classroom.

I found this book on an old dusty bookshelf in my living room and knew I wanted to talk about it. This book talks about having a mom, which seems simple - but for some students can be a very difficult topic. The wording of this book is incredibly repetitive, but it is supposed to be. This book has absolute beautiful illustrations of different animals with their mothers on each page. The illustrations are unique in creative art style, colorful, as well as engaging. There is not really a point of view in this story, I think it would be a third person outsider telling the story.The plot is very organized and repetitive. I was slightly disappointed in this book. The book goes on listing things about how mothers love their children, but what show more if the child doesn't have a mother. This book is great for a specific time and place, but this place is not in the classroom. If students do not have a mother figure this book would definitely be very upsetting. The main message of this story is that mothers love their children. show less

¿El Canguro Tiene Mama? by Eric Carle Is a great book for English Language Learners or those who speak predominantly Spanish. Throughout the story, it asks readers’ questions about different animals wanting their moms and answers them on the next page. Although I cannot understand it in entirety, the pictures illustrated in the story help to provide context clues on what the author is trying to tell his audience. This book made me smile because despite it being in a different language, it shows the relationship between mom and child. I also really enjoy this book because it is important for children to be able to open a sliding glass door and step into the story. This is made possible in this book for a student whose native language show more is Spanish. The artistic style of positive space and colored pencil shading allows you to feel as if a student wrote this as well and made me feel an even deeper connection to the text. show less

Good for teaching basic mammal traits, animal concepts. However, do be careful: it assumes the reader has a loving, involved mother, which may cause distress to some small children who do not have that experience.

The love between a mother and her babies is nicely portrayed in this simple picture book. Carle repeatedly compares animal mothers and their loved ones with human mommies and their babies. In the back, there is a informational page full of the names of animal babies, parents, and groups found in the book. A great discovery!