Baba’s Over The Moon

27 August 2024

Baba’s Over the Moon
by Marion Mutala
Published by Millennium Marketing
Review by Michelle Shaw
$19.99 ISBN 9781777371371

Award-winning author Marion Mutala’s new book is, quite literally, a love song to her new grandbaby Oliver.

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of Mutala’s other books and each one has been a unique delight. In Baba’s Over the Moon, Mutala showcases her skills not only as a writer but also as a singer and songwriter. The book reads like a poem but at the back of the book is a QR code that you can scan that takes you to a page to hear Mutala singing along to an accompanying guitar. If you’re musically inclined, you can follow along as sheet music is also provided.

The words of the book are simple and heartfelt. Mutala beautifully blends repetition, rhythm and rhyme to create a wondrous sense of expectation as Baba contemplates the arrival of her new grandbaby. What will he look like? What will his name be? When will he arrive?

At the very back of the book there is a colourful word cloud created by Kate Hodgson — all synonyms for the word grandmother, such uGogo, Oma, Baba, Grootmoeder, Kohkom, Abuela, and Grandmère. I think it’s a wonderful way to introduce children to other cultures through a familiar word.

Illustrator Katerina Davidenko has done a great job on the inside artwork. The pictures are bright, friendly and happy — they really draw you into the book. Interestingly, the cover illustration by Wendy Siemens has a very different feel to the rest of the illustrations. The cover illustration is beautiful, but it seems epic and grand whereas the inside illustrations are more childlike. Both illustrators make wonderful use of colour, and their work beautifully supports the love expressed in the words of the book.

This is Mutala’s 19th book. She has a master’s degree in educational administration and taught for 30 years. She is also the author of the national bestselling award-winning children’s book series, Baba’s Babushka. Find out more about her books on www.babasbabushka.ca.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM

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