Me and Momma and Big John

Me and Momma and Big John is an attractive and instructive picture book I found in the Austin Public Library while idly looking for titles to send (by way of retail delivery) to my new nephew. Speaking of infantile, I was fascinated with the thick, sturdy and smooth pages of the book, but in my defense I can now attest that they are relatively safe from, and will be fascinating to, littler hands than mine.

The story centers on a fictional single mother (though the Afterword identifies the inspiration for the story as real-life stonecutter  Carol Hazel) who works long hours chiseling a decorative stone for the ever-unfinished Cathedral Church of Saint John (“Big John”) in New York. While the work is labor-intensive and makes her dirty to the point where she can taste the stone, Momma is also creating a work of art, something she was not doing in her previous job on a factory line. John, the narrator, is very concerned not only with the difficulty of her job and the time it takes up each day, but with the idea that she needs to get public recognition for helping build Big John. (I remember a commercial from years ago where people signed their handiwork, workers whose contributions normally go unnoticed—wait staff, construction workers, crafts people.) But John, narrating with gentle tropes throughout, is eventually satisfied that at least his mother’s stone will have a majestic spot at the top of the church, against the sky.

I continue to have a child-like awe about good illustration, in this case invoked by William Low. In 32 pages, the palate of colors is soft and warm, and Low has a photographer’s eye for angle throughout, managing to capture the immensity of Big John’s interior and exterior.

Me and Momma and Big John is written by Mara Rockliff  and published by Candlewick Press. Probably toddlers through early readers will find enjoyment on their tour inside Big John.