Olivier Ka’s My Great Big Mamma addresses the serious issue of body image from the perspective of a little boy whose Mamma is very big. It is a touching story about unconditional love, acceptance, and the effects of a parent’s self-esteem on their child. Luc Melanson’s warm, watercolour-like illustrations have Mamma’s entire body taking up most of each page of the book. She has a warm smile and you can almost feel her soft touch. The joy and love the boy has for her comes out in each image, and makes the story that much warmer and more welcoming.
This short and meaningful story, told in the voice of a little boy, begins with the description of his Mamma and how he loves the coziness of her large figure. Throughout, however, he notices the comments people make about her and thus sheds light on the struggle his mother faces as a large woman. But being a child, he cannot understand why such comments affect her. When she heeds the opinions of society and decides to go on a diet, he finds a clever way to show her just how silly her decision is.
Although the message in the story is an important one for children to learn, one drawback of this book is that it seems more intended for adults – and mothers in particular. Written from the perspective of a child, with simple language and short, clear sentences, the story is aimed at children aged 4 to 8, but reads more like a lesson to mothers on not giving in to society’s pressures because of the message it would send their children. The lesson of acceptance of one’s body image is secondary to the general theme of unconditional love that children have for their parents; the way in which the little boy teaches his mother why she should not diet seems too deep for a child to grasp.
Nevertheless, still worth the read, My Great Big Mamma is a small, moving story with a big, punchy message: Love yourself.
Luc Melanson, of Laval, Quebec, is nominated for a Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature – Illustration for My Great Big Mamma. The winners will be announced on November 17.
Rachna Vohra is a poet, writer, and spoken word artist, but there are so many more aspects to her personality, she cannot fit them into three lines. She has been published in various magazines and has performed spoken word across the US and Canada. To find out more about Rachna, visit www.rachnavohra.com.
