MY MOM IS LIKE A KITE

A young girl employs a variety of metaphors as she muses on her mother’s shifting emotions.

Some days Mom soars on the wind like a kite, and “no matter how hard I pull the string, I can’t bring her back down.” Other days, Mom’s boat takes on water and begins to sink. The child tries to help bail it out from her own buoyant vessel, but it’s not enough, and Mom spends those days in bed, while the child’s boat feels “cramped and heavy.” Mom takes the child to meet Grace, a therapist who tells her it’s not her responsibility to monitor her mother’s moods. On another “sinking day,” the child picks up crayons instead and draws. Later, Mom joins her and asks for a picture to hang where she can see it from her bed. The child wonders if she’ll encounter similar troubles when she’s an adult. No one knows, but nevertheless, the young protagonist feels ready to face whatever happens. Detlefsen has crafted a heartfelt meditation on the effects of mental illness on family members. Metaphors are woven in with more concrete events; both reinforce the story’s positive message. Importantly, Mom’s struggles are realistically depicted, but so is the loving parent-child relationship. Dion’s illustrations use negative space to great effect, and the gouache-style brushstrokes create a lovely, textured softness. Mother and child are tan-skinned; Grace is paler.

A breath of fresh air for those seeking to explain mental illness to their little ones.