MAMA LOVES IT

Raffi’s 2014 song finds new life in rollicking picture-book format.

Parents and children spend a day doing chores together. Mama does the laundry; Papa lugs groceries. Papa cooks, irons, and washes dishes; Mama sorts and folds clothes, vacuums, and sets the table. Unsupervised, the kids sweep the floor, tidy their room, and make their beds. They also help their parents, walking the dog and feeding the cat together, and everyone works in the sunny garden. At day’s end, the whole family, pets included, piles sleepily onto the sofa! Their cottage is far from chaotic, but like the lyrics, the tune, and the cartoon-style art, the home and the chores aren’t regimented; there’s a lovely looseness to Pessoa’s linework and to the labor. If a sock is dropped, so what? If the cutlery isn’t precisely placed, who cares? The point is pitching in, and nothing has to rhyme. This book is as important for parents, who must often learn to tolerate their children’s imperfect assistance, as it is for the young audience, who need to see that their contributions are valuable. Mama and the kids are brown-skinned; Papa is pale-skinned.

A lovely portrait of domestic bliss.