BOOK REVIEWS

Title: I Love You, Stinky Face

Illustrator: Cyd Moore

"I came across I Love You, Stinky Face by accident. It was the title that grabbed me and made me pull it off the shelf in a University bookstore. What could it possibly be about? I read it in the store, bought it immediately, and read it to my son who at the time was 3.Z

The book is one to treasure. There are few books for kids that explain how we mothers feel about the role of motherhood so beautifully. I think it is the illustrations, by Cyd Moore, and the words that make this book a favorite in our house. It is chosen by my children time and time again and we never get sick of reading it.

The premise of the book is unconditional love. What would a mother do to protect her child, be near her child, love her child fully with all her heart? But the book is light, funny and even hilarious at points. The son is clever and he challenges his mother giving her more and more difficult scenarios to imagine. The boy wants to know if the mother will be there for him, no matter what, no matter what the circumstances or situation, time or place, will the mother be there to love and nurture her child? The answer is yes and the mother comes up with creative and bizarre solutions in order to stay close to her child and accept him at every moment for who he is.

I would love to be this kind of mother. I actually believe that I will be. My kids are so young now so it is easy to love them unconditionally but the book challenges us to think about what would happen if our children made choices we did not approve of and lived their lives in ways we had not envisioned. That is of course assuming a mother has a vision for how her child should live once he/she grows up. Are we able to stretch our minds to the possibilities that lay ahead for our children? Will we be good at parenting a teen or an adult child? Would we be truthful with our kids about what we really think of their choices or bite our tongues to preserve the relationship? I wonder.

I truly believe that the choices my children will make in their lives will excite me and interest me because it will give me great insight into who they are and give me a chance to know them even better. I hope I am challenged as a parent (did I just say that?) to learn about new ways of seeing and thinking by my children because of their experiences and their chosen paths. We shall see. You can always find this post in years to come and remind me that I felt this way when they were young...

Read I Love You, Stinking Face to your kids and tell me what it means to you..."

     Debbie Zinman

"'But Mama, but Mama, what if I were a super smelly skunk, and I smelled so bad that my name was Stinky Face?' Mothers love their children and this unconditional love is truly tested in I Love You, Stinky Face. Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore beautifully weave a reassuring tale of the love and affection of a parent. The imaginative son turns himself into a meat-eating dinosaur, a swamp creature and much, much more before being satisfied with the fact that no matter how stinky he is or how slimy of a creature he could possibly be, he is loved and nothing will change that."

     Reed Business Information, Inc.

"In this sentimental q&a, a child imagines himself as various uncuddly creatures while his mother promises unconditional love. The child's queries flow in waves of thick, black hand-lettered words with the name of a despicable monster occasionally highlighted in an appropriately putrid color: 'But Mama, but Mama, what if I were a super smelly skunk, and... my name was Stinky Face?' His mother replies (in evenly paced typeset text) that she would bathe him, 'and if you still smelled bad, I wouldn't mind, and I would... whisper in your ear, 'I love you, Stinky Face.' The child is inspired by stuffed animals and a picture book to conjure uncharming beasts that range from an ape to a seaweed-covered swamp creature to a pointy-headed cyclops. Fantasy spreads show each of the boy's metamorphoses, alongside his fearless mother (faced with an alligator, she buys a bigger toothbrush, and for the meat-eating dinosaur she makes hamburgers). Moore's (A Frog Inside My Hat) soft sunset shades of lavender, teal, pink and peach convey the fanciful animals that, no matter how toothy or slimy, become gentle under the mother's loving gaze. McCourt's (The Rain Forest Counts!) sweet yet effective game sends a soothing message."

     Publishers Weekly