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Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
From Eric Carle, the New York Times bestselling author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Grouchy Ladybug , comes a reassuring tale of a mother’s love for her child. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? answers curious kids who wonder whether lions, bears, and monkeys have mothers, too. Bright collage illustrations and simple text reinforce the theme that everyone has a mother, and every mother loves her child. Meet the little joey bouncing in mother kangaroo’s pouch. Watch little cubs prance around mother lion. Swim with a baby dolphin calf in the deep blue sea. Eric Carle’s classic, colorful collages of baby animals and their mothers will delight and comfort young readers. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? is a warm and approachable book to use in the classroom, to cuddle up reading with a little one, and to give as a baby shower or Mother's Day gift. Other favorite classic books from Eric Carle include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, From Head to Toe, and many others.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
10 people are currently reading
1810 people want to read
About the author
Eric Carle
667 books2,449 followersEric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
January 23, 2022
Turns around in a chair, James Bond villain style.
Ah, Mr. Carle, we meet again. I thought I was through with your meddling, but Christmas again proved me wrong and another of your books was gifted to my daughter. Hopefully this will be our last encounter Mr. Carle.
What is it this time? Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother?
"Yes!" you say, "A kangaroo has a mother. Just like me and you."
"Does a lion have a mother too?"
Oh, I see Mr. Carle, not only do I have to suffer from your same repetitive artwork, but I need to suffer another of your books that has the exact same wording each page but just changing the animal. How clever. No doubt you enjoy how many people call you a genius for your repetition.
Now Mr. Carle, your text is boring, but let's add to this. Some children do not currently have a mother, or cannot be with theirs, I wonder how this text makes them feel? Sure my daughter doesn't have to think about this because she has hers, but as an adult I can't help but think about it. This book is just… distasteful to me even beyond the usual Carle complaints. The others may be repetitive, boring and annoying but this one is potentially harmful. The cult of Carle will love this book, as they seemingly do everyone one of your works, but for me this doesn't even deserve 1 star. I'm only going with that because it's the lowest I can.
Ah, Mr. Carle, we meet again. I thought I was through with your meddling, but Christmas again proved me wrong and another of your books was gifted to my daughter. Hopefully this will be our last encounter Mr. Carle.
What is it this time? Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother?
"Yes!" you say, "A kangaroo has a mother. Just like me and you."
"Does a lion have a mother too?"
Oh, I see Mr. Carle, not only do I have to suffer from your same repetitive artwork, but I need to suffer another of your books that has the exact same wording each page but just changing the animal. How clever. No doubt you enjoy how many people call you a genius for your repetition.
Now Mr. Carle, your text is boring, but let's add to this. Some children do not currently have a mother, or cannot be with theirs, I wonder how this text makes them feel? Sure my daughter doesn't have to think about this because she has hers, but as an adult I can't help but think about it. This book is just… distasteful to me even beyond the usual Carle complaints. The others may be repetitive, boring and annoying but this one is potentially harmful. The cult of Carle will love this book, as they seemingly do everyone one of your works, but for me this doesn't even deserve 1 star. I'm only going with that because it's the lowest I can.
January 25, 2020
This is kid’s book about how every animal in the world has a mother that loves them just like every kid!
Only... not every kid has a mom? Or is able to be with their mom??
Reading this to small fry, who lives with us because he currently CAN’T live with his mom... was not fun.
He did like the picture of the author in the back.
Particularly his beard. Because “he looks like an outdoor man, Kaylin!”
Only... not every kid has a mom? Or is able to be with their mom??
Reading this to small fry, who lives with us because he currently CAN’T live with his mom... was not fun.
He did like the picture of the author in the back.
Particularly his beard. Because “he looks like an outdoor man, Kaylin!”
November 27, 2017
Love the Carle artwork, but mourn the missed opportunity to teach the names of young animals. It needs to be in the book text, not just the afterword.
May 19, 2009
Parents - don't do it to yourself, avoid this book if at all possible.
Mindnumbingly boring text - the same question and answer 12 times over.
The illustrations are typical Eric Carle - I'm not a fan of his illustrative style, but many other people love it.
The final page gives a list of the names of babies, parents and groups of the animals featured in the book. I remember loving these factoids when I was a child, but who can be bothered learning all the terms of venery when your an adult (the only exception being if they are particularly amusing, and even then, lets face it, they aren't a particularly good joke). If you read this you will forever have to call a female kangaroo a "flyer" in front of your children... Who uses these terms? Noone!
Your child, if given the opportunity, will invariably love it - requesting it be read every night before bed. Oh, the humanity!
Mindnumbingly boring text - the same question and answer 12 times over.
The illustrations are typical Eric Carle - I'm not a fan of his illustrative style, but many other people love it.
The final page gives a list of the names of babies, parents and groups of the animals featured in the book. I remember loving these factoids when I was a child, but who can be bothered learning all the terms of venery when your an adult (the only exception being if they are particularly amusing, and even then, lets face it, they aren't a particularly good joke). If you read this you will forever have to call a female kangaroo a "flyer" in front of your children... Who uses these terms? Noone!
Your child, if given the opportunity, will invariably love it - requesting it be read every night before bed. Oh, the humanity!
January 24, 2019
Basic Plot: Question and response for small children.
My 18-month old son LOVES this book. The repetition gets old kinda quick for adults, but toddlers love it, and that's enough for me to continue to read it to him and not hide it behind the bookshelf. Nodding "yes" was one of the first responses my son learned to give, and he was really excited that he knew what was coming in the book- he could nod that yes, whatever animal does have a mother, too. He would get very excited about that. I also like the little glossary in the back of the names for animal moms, dads, and babies- it's a way to add interaction with the book and pictures beyond the text..
My 18-month old son LOVES this book. The repetition gets old kinda quick for adults, but toddlers love it, and that's enough for me to continue to read it to him and not hide it behind the bookshelf. Nodding "yes" was one of the first responses my son learned to give, and he was really excited that he knew what was coming in the book- he could nod that yes, whatever animal does have a mother, too. He would get very excited about that. I also like the little glossary in the back of the names for animal moms, dads, and babies- it's a way to add interaction with the book and pictures beyond the text..
January 15, 2025
Nice to know that animals have mothers too!
April 6, 2024
The book begins with a question: does a kangaroo have a mother too? The answer is: yes. he also has a mother, like you and me. The question concerns several animals, and the answer is always yes. Everyone has a mother.
Animal mothers loves their babies, just as yours loves you.
The book promises motherly love, which everyone needs, so children should read it. A very beautiful book for children and adults
Animal mothers loves their babies, just as yours loves you.
The book promises motherly love, which everyone needs, so children should read it. A very beautiful book for children and adults
May 12, 2016
MART - interesting experience, with my 1st grade reader. Since I don't read Spanish, I told him we'd have to make up a story to go along with the pictures. He liked the animals that seem the strongest and most fierce. Making up a story with him was fun. We alternated pages. (He didn't believe it was about mother animals - even when I showed him the recognizable words.)
February 12, 2018
The colors in this book is catching to the eye. I enjoyed reading it to my little ones when they were small. It introduces different animals and their moms. This book is written with simple loving language that is great for the little in anyone's lives.
January 14, 2013
Toddlers love it. Parents hate it. :)
December 22, 2017
4 stars for helping Ian figure out that "yes" and "no" are two different answers.
February 12, 2023
Mommy and I checked this one out from the library because Mommy lived in Australia for a while, so she loves kangaroos! But it's also by that guy who wrote about the hungry caterpillar. We love reading it together! It's a perfect read aloud and Mommy always smiles at the end!
March 17, 2019
Decent use of repetition, awesome art, and a solid glossary.
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February 8, 2020I only read this once and that was enough
March 20, 2024
I liked the lions and the foxes and the penguins.
February 1, 2018
Reading this book verbatim is a pain. The texts are repetitive “does a Lion have a mother too? Yes! A Lion has a mother. Just like me and you”. “Does a giraffe have a mother too…” It gets a bit horrifyingly boring when we got to the 5th animals, and my heart sank when I realized there were still 6 more animals to go!
20-month old little-AJ didn’t seem to mind too much about the repetition (although mummy has been creating varied texts for this book just to rescue myself from boredom- “oh look! It’s baby penguin and mama penguin! Oh, remember the song “Mary has a little lamb?”, yes that’s the lamb and mama sheep, baaa baaa!”).
The art works are nice, a signature style of Eric Carle. But compared to the writer’s other awesome gems like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this book is undoubtedly a disappointment.
The last page gives a list of interesting names of animal babies, parents and groups. It’s informative, but really could have been written in a more interesting and engaging way (e.g. Fun fact: do you know that a mummy elephant and a mummy giraffe are both called a"cow”!). But instead, the list is written in a very boring textbook style fashion, one animal at a time, starts with the baby, then mother, then father, and the animal groups.
Blog review: https://storypleasemummy.wordpress.co...
20-month old little-AJ didn’t seem to mind too much about the repetition (although mummy has been creating varied texts for this book just to rescue myself from boredom- “oh look! It’s baby penguin and mama penguin! Oh, remember the song “Mary has a little lamb?”, yes that’s the lamb and mama sheep, baaa baaa!”).
The art works are nice, a signature style of Eric Carle. But compared to the writer’s other awesome gems like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this book is undoubtedly a disappointment.
The last page gives a list of interesting names of animal babies, parents and groups. It’s informative, but really could have been written in a more interesting and engaging way (e.g. Fun fact: do you know that a mummy elephant and a mummy giraffe are both called a"cow”!). But instead, the list is written in a very boring textbook style fashion, one animal at a time, starts with the baby, then mother, then father, and the animal groups.
Blog review: https://storypleasemummy.wordpress.co...
April 12, 2018
This book starts off with the question, "Does a kangaroo have a mother too?". Then, we are answered with, "Yes! A kangaroo has a mother. Just like me and you". This book goes through asking if different animals have mothers like us. There is a lion, a giraffe, a penguin, a swan, a fox, a dolphin, a sheep, a bear, an elephant, and a monkey. And guess what they all have in common?
This book was really cute and colorful. The title is what caught my eye, because my favorite animal is and always has been a kangaroo. I really liked the pictures in this book as well. Each of the pictures looked like beautiful paintings. I chose this book because of how colorful and cute each picture was. I think the style and the theme work together to create the meaning of the book. Every page is uniform with the text. They all start out, and end the same. Just as the theme is uniform throughout the book. The theme that everyone has a mother, and everyone's mother loves them. Each character in the book is different, yet each one of them share the same thing in common. A mother.
This book was really cute and colorful. The title is what caught my eye, because my favorite animal is and always has been a kangaroo. I really liked the pictures in this book as well. Each of the pictures looked like beautiful paintings. I chose this book because of how colorful and cute each picture was. I think the style and the theme work together to create the meaning of the book. Every page is uniform with the text. They all start out, and end the same. Just as the theme is uniform throughout the book. The theme that everyone has a mother, and everyone's mother loves them. Each character in the book is different, yet each one of them share the same thing in common. A mother.
March 28, 2014
This is a simple book that asks readers a question every other page, following the format of the title. A different animal is substituted each time and a rhyme scheme is developed to keep the rhythm of the book flowing along. The book ends by tying the question back to the reader by saying “YES! YES! Of course they do. Animal mothers love their babies just as yours loves you”. This predictable format is what makes this a picture book and it is very easy for small children to follow along.
This book could be integrated into a classroom of lower-elementary students perhaps for a Mother’s Day themed lesson or to comfort students who have separation anxiety at the beginning of the school year. It could also be used effectively to teach children about rhyme and rhythm in writing.
This book could be integrated into a classroom of lower-elementary students perhaps for a Mother’s Day themed lesson or to comfort students who have separation anxiety at the beginning of the school year. It could also be used effectively to teach children about rhyme and rhythm in writing.
July 20, 2023
Mothers are so important, and this book helps to celebrate their importance and illustrate that every animal has a mother, and that all mothers love their children. I love the peaceful illustrations. I love the info page at the back that tells what a baby animal is called, what a full grown female animal is called and what a full grown male animal is called.
* Talking Points: Does your mother love you? How do you know? Do you love your mother. Why? Which of the animals pictures in this book is your favorite? Why?
** Essential Oil Pairing Tips: Myrrh is the mothering essential oil. For a comforting diffuser blend try diffusing 2 drops of doTERRA's Myrrah, 1 drop Helichrysum and 1 drop Cypress essential oil.
* Talking Points: Does your mother love you? How do you know? Do you love your mother. Why? Which of the animals pictures in this book is your favorite? Why?
** Essential Oil Pairing Tips: Myrrh is the mothering essential oil. For a comforting diffuser blend try diffusing 2 drops of doTERRA's Myrrah, 1 drop Helichrysum and 1 drop Cypress essential oil.
June 18, 2017
The answer to the title is obvious but also on the first page. Then a similar question is asked on every page with, of course, the same results. In fact, all of the animals "discussed" are mammals with the exception of two birds. Where are the insects? Where are the reptiles? Where are the fish? The mollusks? Apparently they aren't good enough to make it into this book so we'll never know if they too have mothers. Clearly some animals are indeed more equal than other animals.
At least Carle's illustrations are interesting to look at.
At least Carle's illustrations are interesting to look at.
March 1, 2018
I find that children love to be involved with stories whenever possible. When sharing this book you can invite them to guess the animal that will appear on the next page, giving clues to help. You can invite them to name the animal (without the guessing) when they see the picture. You can invite them to make the animal's sound. You can stand up and make actions that the animal might make. You can invite them to give a thumbs up as they say YES!, which is repeated with each animal.
March 2, 2018
I used this book for a baby and toddler story time. The children loved the colors at which Eric Carle is truly a master. In addition, the repetitive verse on each page made it easy for the toddlers to predict what was coming next. Since each page used the word, "Yes!", we taught the children the sign for "yes". By the end of the book, most of the little ones were moving their tiny fists up and down. This is an excellent adult/ toddler lap story.
April 27, 2018
This is a book for very young children that discusses several different animal mothers and their babies. It does a good job teaching children about different kinds of animals through beautifully drawn illustrations and question-answer format in its writing. I would definitely incorporate this book into a preschool lesson plan because I really think children would enjoy talking about the different animals and their relationship with their mom.
August 28, 2018
With the repetition in this book, it would be very easy for a child to memorize the entire thing after a couple times hearing it. The only thing that they may struggle on the first couple times is what animal comes next, especially after they pick up on the pattern. These types of books give children a great deal of confidence when starting to read because they know what they are reading is correct.
May 7, 2024
A good storytime read. Not my favorite Eric Carle in terms of storyline, very very basic, but still has lovely pictures and it's a really good interactive read for a storytime. Lots of yes-no answers, and plenty of animal noises to make ('what does a mother elephant say to her baby?' Cue trunks and trumpeting). For older kids, you can teach the names of the adult and baby animals, listed in the back of the book.
November 4, 2019
My favorite part of this one was certainly the lovely animal drawings (I'll be saving several for my own personal collection!). I thought the story was a bit more simplistic than I wanted - for some reason I had it in my head this book connected to themes of adoption? and it's fine without it but would be better if it was, I think - but it still has a lot of heartwarming elements that kids are sure to love. Good for children who are staunch animal lovers.
September 6, 2018
A classic Eric Carle book with his distinctive artwork always appeals to young kids. I would read this with 0-5 year olds. My baby liked the pictures, but it didn’t hold his interest for very long.
I wish each page was captioned with names for the baby animals to contrast with the names of the mamas in the text.
I wish each page was captioned with names for the baby animals to contrast with the names of the mamas in the text.
September 12, 2019
Probably needs to be a 6 months to a year book, not age 2(?) Upon reading some more reviews, I discovered that the names for mommy, daddy, baby and group animals are in small print in the back.... I’m sure I missed r due to being bored to death. I will work those into the reading of the book in the future.
April 24, 2020
Contemporary Realistic
K-3rd
For anyone who wants to explore the commonality between humans and the rest of the earth in an easy, childlike way, this book is an excellent option. This teaches about motherhood throughout the animal kingdom in a light-hearted uplifting way that in many ways, exemplifies the love of a mother.
K-3rd
For anyone who wants to explore the commonality between humans and the rest of the earth in an easy, childlike way, this book is an excellent option. This teaches about motherhood throughout the animal kingdom in a light-hearted uplifting way that in many ways, exemplifies the love of a mother.
March 3, 2018
Very repetitive. The last page includes names of the baby animals, etc. The book was boring without that info in the text itself. I prefer when an author includes factoids in smaller print that I can choose to read or not in the course of the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews