Mama Lou’s Belly

Mama Lou is expecting! Everyone is excited to meet the new baby, and they all have guesses at what it might be, including the neighbourhood animals. The cat thinks it might be a mouse inside Mama Lou’s belly because she has been craving cheese. A toy ball inside the house thinks it might be another ball because Mam Lou’s belly is so round. The rest of the family is sure a baby is growing inside Mama Lou’s belly, but the older brother thinks it will be a boy while the older sister hopes it is a girl. Grandma and Grandpa hope the baby has rosy cheeks and isn’t bald!

However, the baby has its own opinion about everyone's guesses. In a funny and clever way, the illustrations show speech bubbles coming from Mama Lou’s belly that tell readers what baby could be saying. “Me, a mouse? Don’t be silly!”, but, of course, no one can hear what Baby is saying. Baby tries to tell everyone that it is not a doll, not a ball, and doesn’t know if it is a boy or a girl yet. Finally, after all the excitement, the baby is tired of being ignored and comes into the world with a loud cry. There is joy and happiness at the arrival of the newest member of the family, who is not, in fact a ball, a mouse, or a doll, but a baby who is now heard and seen. The baby is as bald as Grandpa, and has rosy cheeks and twinkly eyes.

Mama Lou’s Belly is a cute story that expresses all the excitement before the arrival of a new family member and how people like to guess the gender. Hebert has some fun with that idea by having animals and other inanimate objects guess what could be growing inside Mama Lou’s belly. Having different members of the family share their guesses shows the support and involvement of a multigenerational family and how they are each, in their own way, excited for the new baby. When the baby finally arrives, the story shows how the new baby is given unconditional love, no matter what was predicted, and that baby already has a strong sense of self-identity. Young readers will enjoy the funny illustrations depicting all the predictions and what the baby’s response is, from the cat who tries to catch the bird to the older sister who hopes to dress Baby up as a doll.