Many original and useful aspects abide in the parenting/kid care book MOMMY, DADDY PLEASE TEACH ME! written by Michael A. Brown and illustrated by Zoe Ranucci. Suitable to read to and with a child, the stellar concept is based on mommies and daddies remembering that–despite whatever chaotic hustle and bustle, crisis, and/or disappointments in the modern world they might be personally experiencing–parents and caregivers are still the individuals mainly responsible for making sure their children grow up with the practical and social skills they’ll require. Knowing how to feed oneself does not just involve cooking. It also includes knowing how to shop, what kind of food to buy, how to correctly put those important supplies away once grocery bags arrive home, earning money to pay for groceries, knowing how to handle money wisely when out shopping, being able to clean up after meals and/or unexpected spills–all skills adults sometimes take for granted, and/or may not have been effectively taught themselves. But such abilities to effectively navigate life do not appear by osmosis, though role modeling a lack of them can. Children must be shown how to best grow into competent adults, and the author suggests these skills be step-by-step explained with loving care in a way that will additionally serve to support and strengthen the familial bond.
Another lovely facet of MOMMY, DADDY PLEASE TEACH ME! are the charming illustrations in which the author and artist have made sure to include a host of diverse families. African-American, Asian, Caucasian and Hispanic families are all represented. A particularly appealing interracial family, surrounded by fireflies, opens the tale, and the book doesn’t fall prey to gender or able-ism stereotypes. Fathers are equally involved in helping to keep the house clean, and a child in a wheelchair is depicted cherishing big accomplishments along with big dreams. In terms of weak spots, there are a few places where the rhyming feels off. But even more critical–considering how representative the book is, the places where it is not particularly stand out. In the illustration of Maslow’s educational Hierarchy of Human Needs, for example, no people of color are present; each face at every pyramid level from Physiological Needs to Self-Actualization is white. And considering all the different types of families portrayed, at least one family comprised of two daddies or two moms is conspicuously missing, as is at least one single-parent household, both of which typify contemporary family units, of which there are many.
The instructive MOMMY, DADDY PLEASE TEACH ME! written by Michael A. Brown and delightfully illustrated by Zoe Ranucci comprises a cheerful representation of a variety of parents beginning to share vital life skills with their offspring, thus providing an informative jumping off point for today’s families to do–and expand upon–the same.
~C.S. Holmes for IndieReader