View source for My Mummy does weird things / Maman fait des choses bizarres by Amelie Julien and Gustyawan

{{infobox1
|title=My Mummy does weird things / Maman fait des choses bizarres
|author=Amelie Julien and Gustyawan
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A delightful story about just how weird a mother can be - delivered in English and French.  What better way to learn a language?
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=27
|publisher=Independently published
|date=August 2019
|isbn=978-1686792625
|cover=1686751680
|aznuk=168679262X
|aznus=1686751680
}}

Which child doesn't think that there mother is, well, ''weird''?  It might be that in the morning their mother doesn't like speaking much, when every self-respecting child knows that that is when you're at your brightest with lots to say?  ''Why'' then does Mummy stick her fingers in her ears?  Then there's doing yoga in front of the television, which could be worrying if it wasn't so funny. We won't go into too much detail about what goes on in the bathroom and the colour changes which have occured when Mummy emerges and frankly, the less said the better about her reactions to your artistic efforts on the wall.  I mean, what else would you use paint for?

We won't go into too much detail about how Mummy studies labels in supermarkets as though they're absolutely fascinating or her dreadful habit of hiding vegetables in pasta.  What a silly place to put them!  And why put sweets right at the back of the cupboard when they're so difficult to get at?

On the other hand, even a boy who has worked out just how weird his mother really is will know where to go when he has a problem.  Who else tells you that they're proud of you and kisses you?  Every mum is one of a kind.

Isn't that just a gorgeous story?  It's so true and gives wonderful opportunities to discuss ''why'' some things happen, but that's not even half the story about this brilliant picture book.  The illustrations are perfect for the story, subtly adding to the text and injecting a nice dollop of humour.  But then there's even more.

On each double-page spread you get two sentences in English - and then they're repeated in clear, modern French and written by a native speaker of the language!

I came late to learning a foreign language, coming from a family who believed that foreigners were just people who were being difficult about speaking the English language which they obviously understood.  I then had to learn French at school by reciting verbs, which, in many ways just reinforced the family view.  I do so wish that I had been introduced to the language - any language - in this way, with humour and relevance.

If you're in the US and worried that children have a ''mommy'' rather than a ''mummy'' then you can relax as there's an American edition of the book called [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1686751680?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag06-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1686751680 My Mommy does weird things / Maman fait des choses bizarres].

Young readers will obviously need some help with pronunciation, but it will be valuable to realise that words in a foreign language do not always appear in the same order as they do in English, and that they are not necessarily an exact translation: language is about ''meaning'' rather than being a robotic process where one word is substituted for another.  It's a delightful book for a child who is just beginning to learn French.

And what child is not going to be delighted at the thought of telling his French teacher ''Ma maman fait des choses bizarres parfois''?  I'm sure the school will be completely understanding!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

A young child learning French will also enjoy [[Mr Chicken Goes To Paris by Leigh Hobbs]].

{{amazontext|amazon=168679262X}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=1686751680}}

{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Amelie Julien]] [[Category:Gustyawan]]