Earth Mother by Ellen Jackson

Earth Mother Reviews

• 
  Shena

  I got this book from the library for my children, shortly after my sister and her baby were tragically killed in a terrible car accident. It was a strange time, I remember it like living in a bubble and floating through life for a while, trying to make sense of things. The most confusing thing for me was religion and trying to figure out how anything could be, well, simply, OK. I read this book to my children every night for at least 3 months. It brought me a sense of peace and calmness. It was like there was a little bit of sense, purpose and beauty in our day...and for a little while, everything was OK. This book is a treasure.
• 
  Kathryn

  This is a beautiful, beautiful book! The illustrations are so lush and rich and interesting--full of the beauty of nature and the nuances of human emotion. I love the "message" of this book and how it is... not exactly subtle, but something that you have to think about ;-> I won't say more because I think the fun is in discovering it for yourself. Just be sure to look at Earth Mother's face as she talks to the man, the mosquito and the frog! Priceless! ;->
• 
  Amanda

  I loved these illustrations, how Earth Mother’s clothes pattern changed fluidly and how the border foliage would extend past the illustration space. I really enjoyed the story, which at first had no plot it seemed, but developed into an ecological message.
• 
  Morgan

  Upped the rating because of the gorgeous illustrations.
• 
  Lisa Vegan

  Wonderful illustrations. I loved another of this illustrator team’s books:
  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale and plan to read more books that they’ve illustrated. They do lovely work.
  
  The story is a humorous, educational, take on the circle of life that shows each living creature has its own perspective. I love Mother Earth shown as a black woman in Africa, going through her day, from awaking to sleep time, tending to all of her creatures.
  
  The book has a peaceful, gentle feel, yet is suffused with humor, something my cynical self appreciated.
• 
  Rebecca Lee

  The story and imagery are stunning. The response of the earth mother when asked to fix the food chain from different points in it, is a calm and indulgent silence. It is a good, comforting read with a good lesson.
• 
  Julia

  This book is so beautiful! I can't believe that it's out of print! I want to tell the world just how much I love this book, but I waited until I secured a copy for our home on eBay first. ;)
  
• 
  White House Public Library

  I read Earth Mother by Ellen Jackson today. What a cute little story for children to learn how all weather, insects, etc. helps nurture our environment .
  
  
• 
  Evie

  Beautiful illustrations and a humorous story.
• 
  Ronda

  In this beautifully illustrated story, Earth Mother walks through the times of the day and through the seasons, her flowing robes reflecting each. Man thanks for her for frog, which fills his belly, but wonders why she sent mosquito to torment him. Frog thanks her for sending tasty mosquito to give him life, but wonders why she sent man to catch him. Mosquito thanks her for man, but wonders why she sent frog who has already eaten most of his sisters. Each says that the world would be perfect if only she got rid of one of the others. At the end, as Earth Mother says good night to all her children, she goes to sleep knowing that "the world, in its own way, was perfect."
  
  I like to use this one in preparation for Earth Day lessons, asking the students (K-5) to think about why I might choose to share this one for Earth Day. In some classes, when I get to Frog telling Earth Mother that man is "Bad, bad, bad", after having just heard man say the same about Mosquito, they start to chuckle as they recognize the pattern. Some classes "get it" right away--some take a little prompting--"Have you heard the terms "Food Chain", "Food Web" or "Life Cycle"?
• 
  KA

  I'll read anything illustrated by the Dillons, or with a cover image of theirs. When It comes to Leo and Diane Dillon, you really can judge a book by its cover (that's how I got into both Wise Child and Sabriel, two of my favorite books and the starts of two of my favorite series).
  
  Earth Mother shows a day in the life of Earth Mother, who's imagined as a tall African woman with a cape that changes based on what she's doing or seeing. Wind swirls on her cape as she sets the wind blowing; it has frogs on it when she's talking to a man catching frogs for his breakfast. One of my favorite things is how Man complains about mosquitoes: there should be more frogs, fewer mosquitoes. The frog, which Earth Mother meets while it's hunting mosquitoes, wants there to be more mosquitoes but no people. And the mosquito loves people and the food they provide but thinks frogs were Earth Mother's great failure.
  
  This would be a great book to teach kids a little about an ecological perspective and to contextualize it in a spirituality of thankfulness.
• 
  Sam Grace

  This is a special book. The illustrations are really beautiful and the black earth mother with her changing African* clothes set in a non-Euro-based Earth (nevertheless, totally universalized in an awesome way) is great. It is short enough to work really well as a read-aloud bedtime book, but unlike many bedtime books it actually has a narrative to accompany Earth Mother's sojourn across the land (basically, what should she do to appease her children, who all want different things from her). I almost shelved this in
  books for feminist babies, because it certainly supports an eco-feminist agenda, but it has humanity represented as "Man" (both in visual representation and name), and so I decided to leave it off.
  
  I want it.
  
  * it totally might be some specific group's clothing style, but I wouldn't know ...
• 
  Marsha

  A day in the life of the Earth is told with gentle instruction and illustrations of breathtaking beauty. Whether striding across the land, diving into the oceans or tending fauna and flora, each page shows its title character as a creature of pure loveliness.
  
  The figure of Mother Earth is one of eternal youth, beauty and charm. She is also draped with patterned clothing that changes to reflect the world around her. She is mute but it is a muteness that reflects her inner wisdom, especially when listening to the complaints of the unknowing creatures of the planet, beings that don’t realize how their lives are inextricably entwined with each other.
  
  As always, the artistry of Leo and Diane Dillon are a fine addition to this story, complementing its ecological tale with sumptuous drawings that are like mini photos framed by the whiteness of the pages.
• 
  J-Lynn Van Pelt

  An African woman is depicted as the earth mother walking throughout the land bringing needed rain, wind, nectar, and other facets of nature. Along the way she talks to man who can't stand the mosquitoes, frog who can't stand man, and a mosquito who can't stand frogs. Earth mother listens and then goes about her business and the reader is supposed to make the connection that all creatures are important to the life cycle.
  
  The illustrations are by Leo and Diane Dillon who won Caldecott medals for Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears and Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions. The pictures show a natural, but ethereal Black woman whose traditional African robes change pattern depending on which part of nature she is currently caring for.
• 
  Dione Basseri

  Leo and Diane Dillon have such a beautiful style that they really steal all the glory in any picture book they take on. Ellen Jackson has done a wonderful job of creating (or perhaps retelling, I was unable to determine) what feels like a universal story, to be found in every culture, somehow springing up organically, but the Dillons really keep your attention on the page. I especially love the repetition of Earth Mother's poses as she hears the complaints of her creations. Patient, amused, but in no way swayed, you can just tell she has heard this from the beginning of Life.
  
  Still a good pick for school units on nature and the food chain, though perhaps not the best in areas like mine, where mosquitoes, while necessary, are spreading some diseases, at the moment....
• 
  Sara

  I got this book because I liked the pictures. But it was a wonderful story about the cricle of life and how we are all connected. Bethy thougth that mother earth looked like her aunt Kidist and she wants me to read it to her all the time.
• 
  Betsy

  For some reason the Earth Mother and other humans are what bugged me about these illustrations. I liked the other parts so much. The story personifies Mother Earth and shows a day in her life, so to speak.
• 
  René

  The artwork alone is beautiful, pair it with the message of everything being interconnected and reliant on one another and you have a true treasure.
  
  "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." John Muir
• 
  Michelle

  LOVED THIS BOOK. It had great explanations for a young child to understand that everything is here on Earth for a reason. Beautifully written and illustrated. Will read again and again.
• 
  Candi

  Ages 4-8
• 
  Sarah Sammis

  Lovely story of Earth Mother talking to Man, Frog and Mosquito.
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  Tichaona Chinyelu

  I bought this for my child. He loved it. Asked me, "mother earth has a puff ball?"
• 
  Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)

  This is beautifully illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. And the text flows wonderfully.