Buy used:

$7.88

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery May 24 - June 5 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery May 24 - June 4

Select delivery location

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (27) from $7.68 & FREE Shipping

Follow the author

Rob D. Walker

+ Follow

More books from this author

Mama Says: A Book of Love for Mothers and Sons Library Binding – April 1, 2009

by Rob D. Walker (Author), Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon (Illustrator)

4.9 49 ratings

See all formats and editions

Two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon bring to life these words of wisdom about living life with compassion and courage. Written in rhyming text, this is a "must have" for every family.

Gentle, but powerful life lessons spoken to a child, delivered with a mother's immutable love. Stunning illustrations will leave readers breathless and deeply moved. Never heavy-handed, Mama Says teaches the universal importance of kindness, sharing, diligence, and faith, along with the importance of courage and a willingness to always try your best. Here is the perfect gift book for any mother--as a baby gift, a holiday gift, a birthday gift, a Mother's Day gift, or just as a way to say "I love you."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A sure-fire hit for Mother's Day, this elegantly designed book pairs a series of poems with stunning illustrations to celebrate the bond between mothers and sons. Identical in structure, each beginning with Mama says, the poems appear in English as well as another language (among these are Cherokee, Danish, Hebrew and Inuktitut). The verses are prosaic (Mama says/ To be on time/ Mama says/ Be neat/ Mama says/ To walk with pride/ And never drag my feet)—but only until the Caldecott Medal–winning Dillons create a greater context for them; in this case, they picture an African-American mother solemnly looking on as her son, carrying schoolbooks, stoically walks past angry white protestors. The illustrations, two per poem, are well-researched and lavish, showing mothers in traditional dress lovingly engaged with their sons. A visual notation connects each entry with a glossary of languages in the back. Even with the inclusion of very general religious precepts, the Dillons' breathtaking paintings and the quiet dignity of the poems merit a wide audience. All ages. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4—Twelve different cultures are represented in this visually stunning, slightly oversize offering. For each one, a short poem stating wisdom or advice that a mother might offer a son is presented on the verso, along with a painting in a circular frame. The effect of the frame is to give readers the feeling that they are peeking in at a private moment between parent and child. The recto has a full-page illustration of the son acting on the advice. The poems are simple and direct and address everything from being honest to sharing and appreciating nature. Some have distinctly religious messages: "Mama says/Have faith/Mama says/Believe/Mama says/To trust in God/And let God take the lead." All of the poems are also presented in the language of the culture addressed, including Cherokee, Hindi, and Danish. The afterword details the specific sources used to obtain accurate translations. The artwork is nothing short of brilliant. Elegantly composed pictures not only capture and enhance the meaning of the poem they accompany, but also depict the various cultures with remarkable attention to detail. This is a lovely and important addition for most collections.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Written in 12 different languages and translated into English, the simple rhyming poems in this picture-book collection celebrate mothers and sons, as well as the profound ways that parents guide their children. On each spread, a full-page painting in clear, glowing collage shows a different child, around the world: an Ethiopian boy reads and writes while his mother holds a lantern; a Jewish boy prays with his mother; an Arab boy studies the stars (“Mama says / Embrace the moon / And marvel at the sun”); and an African American child walks past racist demonstrators on his way to school, his mother behind him. Appended notes fill in more about each featured language: Amharic, Hindi, Hebrew, Inuktitut, Japanese, Arabic, Quechua, Danish, Korean, Cherokee, Russian, and English. The final double-page spread shows the boys all grown up together: “And now I am a man.” Kids will be moved by the drama created by the scenes of global diversity and connections across cultures, as well as the kindness, pride, hard work, and love that shine from every picture and poem. Preschool-Grade 3. --Hazel Rochman

About the Author

Rob D. Walker is a talented singer, artist, and actor who loves to tell stories to his five children. He and his wife and family live in New York State. This is his second book for The Blue Sky Press. His first, Once Upon a Cloud, was praised as an enchanting book” by Booklist.

Versatility, diversity, research, and integrity have remained characteristics of the Dillons’ work, which ranges from African folktales to Scandinavian epics, from fantasy to science fiction. In addition to two Caldecott Medals (for Ashanti to Zulu and Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears), they have received four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards, four Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards, two Coretta Scott King Awards, and the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal, and were inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 1997.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Blue Sky Press (April 1, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Library Binding ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0439932084
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0439932080
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 6 years
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 0.5 x 12.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #479,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,670 in Children's Parents Books
- #4,522 in Children's Books on Emotions & Feelings (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.9 49 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Rob D. Walker

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Rob D. Walker is born in Crown Heights Brooklyn, to an American dad / Jamaican mom. As a graduate of Art and Design H.S. Rob has been an avid artist, painter, actor, designer, writer, ordained minister, motivational speaker. He has appeared in multiple movies and television shows as well as read his books in schools, Barnes and Nobles, Borders Books. His greater vision as a writer is to heal the world through his creative abilities.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5

49 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

LegoDad

I purchased this book as a Mothers Day present for my wife

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

My toddler picked up this book from our local library off of the oversize shelf. Later that week, I got around to reading "Mama Says" to him and his older brother. They both enjoyed the large, colorful images, and the older boy liked predicting the rhymes. As a foreign language educator and linguist, I enjoyed seeing the non-Roman character translations. I even took the book to class to show to my university students as we were discussing literacy and writing systems that week.

When my wife read the book to the boys the following week, she was immediately enamored by it. As a mother of boys, she appreciated the message that women play an important role in teaching values to young men. She and my older son discussed the content of each picture and what the boy in each picture was learning from his mother. My wife was so pleased with the book, she suggested that she would enjoy owning it.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Oni Lasana

More books like this one!

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

Love this gorgeously designed and well thought out book. I brought one for my daughter who has two boys and my son who may read it and think of me and save for his own son one day...HOWEVER another book is needed...with some advice from Father to Son...Men make a huge difference in our children's lives and the ones that do, need all the credit they can get. Many young boys have thrived also from the influences of their fathers.
Lets do another book for Father's to Sons! & MAMA & PAPA says to Daughters!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Mary Krumbein

Classic Book with Amazing Illustrations

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

It also has the rhymes in alternate languages in you know how to read them. Classic book with beautiful illustrations.

Helpful

Leigh Rooke

Wonderful Multicultural & Male Gender Book

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

I am thrilled with this book. I will be using it with older students as a way to introduce an Ultimate Parent Handbook Project for teenagers to write their advice to parents.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Nai

beautiful book, gorgeous illustrations, wonderful messages

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

My kid loves this book. it shows several poems/sayings written in English and other languages/scripts. examples include Amharic, Russian, Cherokee, Korean, etc. My kid loves it. As an emerging reader, he pretends to read the non-English text after I've read it in English. I love it because he is exposed to such vibrant illustrations (I bought the book b/c we are Dillon fans), global views of the world, and the universality of parental love.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

skylark_grl

Great book for mothers to be

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

Great book, I have given it to several expecting moms who are having boys. I love the way each culture or ethnicity has a matching fabric and whatever that saying is is written in the native language. I work with many people of different backgrounds.

* I work with a Japanese guy and when they read the one for the Japanese he pointed out that a Geisha was probably not the best person to represent their culture seeing how they are high class prostitutes.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alan Brooks

Touching

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a very touching story about mothers/sons with diverse and beautiful illustrations! It is very neat how it progresses through a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

A. Olsen

A beautiful gift!

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

The illustrations are stunning. I just imagine a small boy sitting with his mother as they read this book and talk about the pictures There is just enough words for the most reluctant child to sit and listen to. Diversity is so well represented. A beautiful gift for a new mother to keep.

One person found this helpful

Helpful