The Magic of Mums

In the early pages of this lovely new collection of poems by Justin Coe, there's a simple diamond shape poem which holds a lens to the themes and sentiments of the poems: MUM / I COULD / DIG DEEP DOWN / TO THE EARTH'S CORE / AND NEVER FIND A / DIAMOND AS / BEAUTIFUL / AS YOU / ARE //. The book sports Steve Wells' inviting blue and yellow cover: a mum skipping, another at work as a doctor, another adopting a yoga tree pose all give the reader of taste of what's to come. This is an A-Z of mums starting with 'Action Mum' through 'Space Mum' to 'Zzz Mother'. The book swings into action with 'Action Mum' (p.8). This is a warning to Action Man to 'move over / You're nothing but a plastic poser /' to make way for Action Mum who 'will give no quarter / To those who'd harm her son or daughter / She'll beat the bullies - don't you doubt it /Before Action Man can change his outfit /'. And action abounds in the book: there's 'Jump rope mum' (p.42); 'Keep Fit Mum' (p.44); 'One-hundred-miles-an-hour mother' (p. 52) (shaped as an aptly shaped whirlwind) and a sing-along opportunity with 'Football Mums' (p.32)! But it's not all action. 'Gentle Mum' (p. 38) is a touching kenning celebrating the 'Heart-listener, soft whisperer/' and the collection ends with 'Zzzz Mother' (p.90), a 'sleepy-Mummy lullaby'. 'Tree Mum' (p.70) reflects poignantly about loss: a tree planted in Mum's memory: 'We nurture her / As she nurtured us / Dressed and fed / And watered us / We talk to her / Like she talked to us / Share our laughter / Love and loss /. There's an engaging strand of animal mums running through the collection: the cat who mothers a duckling (true!) in 'Adoptive Mum' (p.10); 'Elephant Mum' (p. 27) and 'Meerkat Mother' (p. 49). In common with many other poems in this volume, 'Meerkat Mother' is begging to be performed: 'My mother's a meerkat, she's really a meerkat / I know that it's weird when I think of the years that / I thought she was human...'. Children will have huge fun working on performing 'Mumma Opera' (p. 54) which romps along in rhyming couplets interspersed by operatic efforts: When she sings in the morning, it shakes us awake / She sings in the soprano and the windows all break / MUMMA OP-OP-OP-OP-ER-AAAAA!?/ As well as invitations to perform, there are poems that will inspire the children's own writing. I was especially pleased to find that 'M' offers a mesostic: 'Magic Mum' with letters running down the middle. This is such a rich form for children and so much more flexible than the ubiquitous acrostic. The book moves through well-judged shades of humour, light and sadness. It doesn't shy from complex issues ('Windrush Mum', p. 84; 'Young Mother', p.88 written from the perspective of a 12-year-old carer). Throughout, Steve Wells' sparky illustrations emphasise the inclusive nature of this book, one that is charged with humour and love. 96 pages / Ages 7-11 years / Reviewed by Alison Kelly, consultant

Suggested Reading Age 9+