Puss Reboots: Blog: January 2020: Just Like a Mama

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Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann
Bob the Artist by Marion Deuchars
The Big Shrink by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins
Black Hammer, Volume 4: Age of Doom Part Two by Jeff Lemire
Bound for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
Bowled Over by Victoria Hamilton
The Bride Was a Boy by Chii
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
Counting to Perfect by Suzanne LaFleur
Death by Coffee by Alex Erickson
The Great Brain Robbery by P.G. Bell
Holiday Buzz by Cleo Coyle
The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio
It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan and Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison
Magnificent Birds by Narisa Togo
The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord and Julie Blattman
Out of Circulation by Miranda James
The Pretenders by Rebecca Hanover Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis
Sabrina the Teenage Witch by Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish
The Space Between by Dete Meserve
Swing it, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
There's a Murder Afoot by Vicki Delany
The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
The Troubleshooter's Guide to Do-It-Yourself Genealogy by W. Daniel Quillen
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas and Erin E. Stead
The Winterhouse Mysteries by Ben Guterson and Chloe Bristol
Wonder Valley by Ivy Pochoda
World's Worst Parrot by Alice Kuipers

Miscellaneous
December 2019 sources
December 2019 summary
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 06)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 13)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 20)
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 27)

Road Essays
Road Narrative Update for December 2019

Previous month

Just Like a Mama: 01/18/20

Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan and Charnelle Pinkney Barlow is a picture book about a little girl living with a woman who isn't her mother because her parents "live miles away." The reason why isn't given and isn't necessary. This story is about the bond between Carol Olivia Clementine and Mama Rose.

Mama Rose does all the things a parent would. She teaches Carol who to ride a bike. She combs her hair. She gets her into her winter gear. They do chores together. She sees her off to school.

Per the note from the author, the book was written in response to all those "fictive kin" families. These are families with an older sibling or a grandparent or an aunt or uncle or some other adult taking the responsibility to care for children when the parents can't. The author explains who her own mother had to raise her younger sister after their mother died.

The illustrations are vibrant watercolors by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. She specializes in patterns and they are here in the clothing, the wrapping paper, and the linens. She fills the world of Carol and Rose with bright primary colors, reflecting the joy the two are building together.

Five stars