van der Vyver, Marita

Mia’s Mom

Illustrated by Piet Grobler. Cape Town, South Africa: Human & Rousseau, 2005. No pag. ISBN 0-7981-4496-3. Ages 3-5.

Commentary
Mia’s Mom is about the magic of storytelling. Although the stories told are European (including Snow White, Cinderella, and Jack and the Beanstalk), the power of the storyteller is the strength of this book. The author has woven a clever and highly amusing story about a girl who tells magical stories about her mother. “Everything that happens in a story also happens to the one who is telling the story,” explains Mia’s Mom (no pag.). And that is why Mia is not telling lies when she says that her mother is a witch who can work magic. Piet Grobler’s high-quality artwork provides frisky animal characters that bounce with fun and the incredulity of children. He uses fine lines for the “real” characters and rough wax crayon for the story-tale figures. This is an enjoyable read-aloud picture book.

Picture Books

South Africa

Human & Rousseau