Written & Illustrated by: Doug Cenko
For ages: 3-6 years
Language: English
Topics Covered: Family, POC-Centric Narratives, Gender Stereotypes, Women in STEM.
Summary:
This book is absolutely adorable! Our narrator is a young boy, describing all of the things his mother is. Through the eyes of a child, his mother is a chemist, a monster truck driver, and treasure hunter. The reader sees in the illustrations all of the activities that the duo does together like baking, searching for things in the couch cushions, and making things out of cardboard. We find out at the end of the book that the boy’s mother is actually a mechanic!
This is a simple storyline for little ones that both subverts gender stereotypes and showcases the love that the boy has for his mother. The illustrations are really cute, and show the mother and her son just having fun around the house together. We particularly enjoyed the “Momster Truck” that said “eat your vegetables” on the side!
This is also a sweet book in that so often we see protagonists of color in a historical narrative context, or in a story with a strong moral. My Mama is a Mechanic celebrates family but at the same time is just a cute story with a lovely lesson that anyone can do any job!
This book was sent to us by Blue Manatee Press, but all opinions are our own!
About the Author & Illustrator:
Doug Cenko has been working as a creative professional for over 15 years. His work has been seen by millions of people worldwide on dozens of concert tours, films and television shows.
He grew up in Northwest Indiana raised by two wonderful parents and an Atari 2600. His first job was at a comic book shop where he spent the majority of his $3 an hour income on the very thing he was selling. The rest, of course, went towards fireworks.
After college, Doug interned at StarToons, one of the animation studios behind the Animaniacs, making even less money than at the comic shop. From there, he combined his love of illustration and fireworks and started working at Strictly FX, a live special effects company. While at Strictly FX, Doug has designed special effects for shows including Wrestlemania, the Academy Awards and Pitch Perfect 2.
Doug is currently living in the city of Chicago with his two harshest critics – his beautiful wife and daughter.