Tell Me a Story, Mama by Angela Johnson, David Soman (Illustrator), David Soman (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

A young girl and her mother remember together all the girl's favorite stories about her mother's childhood.

Publishers Weekly

Mama's memories of her own childhood have been told to her daughter so many times that the girl has made them her own bedtime litany; she tells her mother the stories and her mother reassures her that she has the story right. About the story of a neighborhood woman who used to scare Mama (as a girl) and her sister, the daughter says, ``She was so mean that she used to holler out her window at you and Aunt Jessie when you passed her house every morning. You weren't afraid of her, though.'' `` No sir, I was not, '' is Mama's firm answer. The girl is curious about the love between generations: ``Did Grandmama squeeze you tight when you were her little girl, like she does me?'' `` Uh-huh. '' ``You were lucky, too, Mama.'' `` Yes, I was. '' Johnson captures perfectly the way children make stories they love their own. Soman's lively, warm watercolors alternate between the bedtime rituals of the girl and her mother, and the loving vignettes from ``Mama's'' childhood. Parents and children who share this book may wish to begin their own brand of family storytelling. Ages 3-8. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-- In this touching picture book, a mother and preschool-aged daughter talk together as the child is being prepared for bed. ``Tell me a story, Mama, about when you were little,'' begs the child, and proceeds to tell all the stories herself, her headlong narrative punctuated by maternal commentary--sometimes expansion on the events related; sometimes reassuring answers to the questions that the stories inspire. Mama's childhood memories, as related by her daughter, are warm slices of life from a previous generation: a triumph over a mean neighbor, punished but understood by Grandmama; finding a puppy and being allowed to keep it; journeys away from home. The text consists solely of the dialogue between mother and daughter, which allows the stories and their reassuring lessons to flow naturally into one another while preserving their essence: not their specific incidents, but the love and caring that the memories convey, feelings which lend strength when difficult times and separations occur. Soman's vivid, lively watercolors capture the essence of the mood and message as they deftly portray the quotidian portraits of two generations of a black family. Both language and art are full of subtle wit and rich emotion, resulting in a beautifully realized evocation of treasured childhood and family moments. --Christine Behrmann, New York Public Library

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