Book Review: Mama Loves Me from Away by Pat Brisson

General Information

Title: Mama Loves Me from Away

Author: Pat Brisson

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Boyds Mills Press

Date of Publication: 2004

Illustrator: Laurie Caple

Lexile Level & Target Audience

Lexile: N/A

Age Range: 6-10

Audience: children with an incarcerated parent or relative

Brief Summary

Mama Loves Me from Away is told from the perspective of a young girl named (or nicknamed) Sugar whose mother is incarcerated. She recounts memories with her mother and how she misses her mother telling her stories before tucking her into bed at night. Now living with her Grandmother, we see Sugar struggling with her mother's absence; Sugar writes her mother letters, and visits her, too, asking when she'll be coming home––"As soon as I can," her mother replies.

Evaluation: Pros & Cons

Pros:

1. It's not "happily ever after"––yet. This incredibly heavy subject is difficult to approach altogether, but this book does a great job of presenting young readers with a tender, yet emotional and realistic picture of what it looks and feels like to have a parent in jail. Brisson does a good job of balancing the hopefulness and the struggle of a trying situation.

2. The book doesn't present a simple or perfect solution. This book doesn't aim to show readers how to "fix" this situation; rather, it shows Sugar's journey, her memories, and her emotions. Although the love between Sugar and her mother is evident, this isn't an overnight miraculous ending, which is reflective of most students' reality in these circumstances.

Cons:

1. Mama was "out at the club." One surprising line in the book talks about Sugar's mother being "out at the club" one night, the night that she started going into labor with Sugar. Although this is certainly a believable circumstance, it seems like an unfortunate distraction point from the main theme of the book.

[No other real cons here. This is a great read-aloud book to help educate your students on these dynamics.]

Literary Elements

Point of View: The fact that this book is told from the perspective of Sugar is incredibly helpful; it provides an instant opportunity for students to relate to Sugar, whether they themselves have experienced similar emotions or whether they are developing empathy for what she's feeling.

Repetition: Brisson uses repetitive phrases to describe the types of stories Sugar's mother would tell her. Example: "Sometimes it was about Mama and Big Roger and the time they... / Sometimes it was about... / Sometimes it was about...")

Diction: The story is told from Sugar's perspective, and it actually feels that way, too. She narrates in short, simple sentences, with believable vocabulary and flow. This makes her seem like a real person rather than just a character on the page.

Illustrations

The illustrations are quite beautiful, include ample amounts of diversity in race, and "paint the scenes" with realistic emotion and setting.

Mini-lesson Idea(s)

In this story, Sugar writes letters to her mother while she is in prison. A similar project could be a great exercise to help students develop empathy in their writing. Students could write letters to peers (whom they've never met), encouraging them and letting them know that they are thinking about them. In order to write meaningful letters, students would need to go back through the book and find specific things that Sugar is feeling/struggling with.

- Aubrey