Hello friends, and Happy Mother’s Day! In honor of the occasion, we have a special review today: Everything Is Mama, written by Jimmy Fallon and illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez, the follow-up to the massively popular Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dada.

This time around, there’s a new wrinkle in teaching the book’s collection of baby animals to say their parents’ names. Namely, the baby animals don’t seem to have any issue saying “Mama”, it’s that they seem to think that everything – from the sun to a pair of shoes to a flower to a balloon and much more – is called “Mama.” Their patient mommies try their best to teach them the proper words, but to no avail – everything is “Mama”. It’s okay, though – one day the little babies will grow up to understand that not everything is Mama… but that “Mama is everything.”

I had to be one of the few people on the planet who wasn’t a fan of this book’s predecessor, but I went into this one having heard that a lot of my issues with Dada weren’t present here, and that proved to be absolutely true. Once again, the art is simple, clean, and full of basic shapes and familiar creatures, wonderful for little ones learning about animals and objects. And the gag here is really cute, and very relatable and funny for any parent who has tried to convince their little one that not every dog has the same name as their own, and not every dark-haired woman is Mama. The sentiment on the final page gives the story a nice, warm conclusion, the length is good, and JJ enjoyed it. This is a simple and sweet story with a touch of fun and a dash of learning opportunity – it’s a little bit of everything, and we liked it a lot. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)