Written by Junpier Fitzgerald

Reviewed by Sadie Koch (2020-2021)

How do mama’s bodies show love to their babies? That is the guiding question of this debut children’s book from feminist theorist and sex worker Juniper Fitzgerald. This beautifully illustrated book catalogs many different ways that mama’s bodies can show love to their babies either physically or through the work that they do to care for their children. Mama’s can show their love through flying airplanes, working on a farm, or ‘dancing all night’ Fitzjerald writes, accompanied by a pair of feet in tall high heels with a feather boa laying behind them. 

This is one of the first kids books published that includes mothers who work in the sex work industry, and Fitzgerald does so in a way that is delicately stated so that children who know about stripping will recognize their story, and children who do not recognize that story will see glamorous feet ready to dance away. The rest of the book is filled with mama’s of all races and ages wearing McDonald’s uniforms, working as cleaners, and other working-class jobs alongside CEOs and stay at home mama’s, loudly proclaiming the importance of all mama’s labor. However, this book also describes pregnancy as a part of being a mama, which we know is a narrative that is not true for many of our students who found their mamas through other means, or do not have mamas at all. 

This book has beautiful collage images and sparse words, making it more suitable for children in younger grades. Although this book may raise eyebrows as a full class read aloud, it is a beautiful book to have in your library to connect with children who would love to see their mama’s story represented in a story book whether they are a cleaner, stripper, or mechanic.