Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Mama Seeton's Whistle

Mama Seeton's Whistle. Jerry Spinelli. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2015. 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The first whistle happened one day when Skippy Seeton was two years old. Mama Seeton came to the back door to call him in for dinner. He wasn't there. Mama Seeton was puzzled. From the kitchen window, she had been watching him play.

Premise/plot: Mama Seeton's whistle, which is described as "not a loud whistle. Or a fancy whistle. Just a simple, two-note whistle," is magical. When she whistles her children come home. Her whistle travels far and wide; her whistle proves irresistible.

My thoughts: I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. It spans several decades. When the picture book opens, Mama Seeton is a young mother with one child: a son named Skippy. By the end, she has MANY children and MANY grandchildren.
Every day from then on, Skippy Seeton came to dinner when he heard his mother's whistle. And that's how it was when little brother Sheldon came along. And brother Stewart. And finally a sister--Sophie.
Time went by, as time does. And now the Seeton children have children of their own. And when they call them in for dinner, they do it with a whistle. It is not loud. It is not fancy. Just two simple notes that fly through the talk of people and the noise of cars and buses...until they find...every one...of Mama Seeton's grandchildren.
The story is sweet and compelling. It packs a LOT of emotion into its pages.

The illustrations are AMAZING. LeUyen Pham is without a doubt my favorite, favorite illustrator. Read the details of the illustrations. And do read the illustrator's note.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 10 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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