About the Book and Author
This picture book is about a child called Billy who happens to have two mums. Billy is embarrassed by his family because Billy’s mums sing sea shanties and dance jigs in the lounge. Their clothes are highly unusual, they have a rude parrot for a pet, and their taste in house design is, well . . . FISHY.
Billy wishes his family could be more like everyone else’s ‘normal’ families and he is mortified when his mum’s volunteer to help out on the school trip.
It turns out that his embarrassing mums are actually brave, accomplished, keep a calm head in a crisis and become the everyone’s favourite parents when they save the day.
Billy sees his rather cool parents in a new light and is proud of their differences. This swashbuckling tale is published by Oxford University Press.
Jodie Lancet Grant works as the communications director at the publisher Pan Macmillan and this is the first book she has written. When her young daughters starting asking her why families like theirs weren’t visible in children’s books her wife suggested Jodie wrote a story with two mums! In an interview with Charlotte Eyre at The Bookseller the author explains why it is important for children to see all sorts of families represented in an incidental way.
Lydia Corry graduated from The Royal College of Art in 2009. On her website you can see other examples of her artwork in books.
Book Review
The best thing about this book is the pictures
The best thing about this book is the pictures. I love the rainbow firework.
I have read this book with my mummy lots of times because I love stories about pirates.
Billy’s mummies are very funny and the parrot makes a very funny face.
I like all the pirate words in the book too.
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Reviewer Profile
- Name: Sophia
- Age: 4 years
- Likes: princesses, playing with my dog and reading books
- Dislikes: brown flowers and not going to nursery
- Favourite Book: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Favourite Film: Moanna
- Favourite Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
