Why Me Mama?
By: Katherine Lockwood
Publisher: Acorn Cottage Press
Genre: Picture Book
Published: July 22, 2022
Reviewer Marisa Marquez
In “Why Me Mama?” by Katherine Lockwood readers meet Rose, the self-conscious owlet, as she invites her forest friends to her birthday party. As she hands out her invitations she discovers that everyone is a little different. A classic message while also bringing awareness to children with disabilities.
Our main character Rose is self-conscious due to a missing 6th cranial nerve, so she has to move her head from side to side to see. Rose and all of her friends have a something that makes them different, but as Reese, our duck friend says: “Differences make us unique” (Lockwood 25).
With a kindhearted character and a sweet message it’s hard not to love this book!
What stood out to me the most was the amount of representation. Each character had a story to tell; whether it be something you could physically see, like Daisy in her wheelchair or couldn’t see like Dakotah who is presented as having Autism. Each character offers a great learning opportunity for many readers who don’t know about Moebius syndrome. Notably, there are character lists, discussion questions, and an authors note about Moebius syndrome at the end of the story; As a parent or educator I could see this being a great learning tool! As well as being a great source of representation for readers who can relate to the characters because they have the same disability.
Not only does WMM tell a story about embracing your differences while being inclusive; it does so through vivid color pencil illustrations. The images have a cozy as well as calming appeal. I felt as if I could touch the bark of trees and smell the fresh grass.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and rate it at a solid 4 stars.
Personally I struggled to give this story a full 5 star rating. I didn’t like the spacing of the words on the page as they appeared too clumped up. It’s merely a personally preference; I understand that the characters had a lot to say, but I wondered if a different font or layout could have been used. As I find that too too many words on page in that style can present itself as overwhelming.
Thank you again to Hear Our Voices and to the author for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review. Always a pleasure to work with you!
