Guarino, Deborah. Is Your Mama a Llama?. Illus. Steven Kellogg. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1989.

This educational story is a refreshing turn on identity crises that are common in childhood and adolescence. It is about a young llama, Lloyd, realizing the connection between child and parent during his search to connect the appropriate mother with each of his animal friends. Through Lloyd’s journey and in talking with some friends, the reader is educated about the various physical aspects of different animals. The descriptive rhyming phrases that leads up to Lloyd finding another one of his kind, helps the children to anticipate what is to come next.

There is an interesting pattern present between the detailed illustrations and the repetitive rhythm of text. The only time the illustrations are bound by a white border is when Lloyd first asks friends if their mom is a llama, whereas the friend’s description and Lloyd’s realization is surrounded by detailed brushstrokes and exaggerated colors that are brought into the landscape. This represents Lloyd’s limited perception at first thinking that all mothers are llamas, hence the enclosed border around the illustration. Lloyd’s perspective broadens as he learns diversity among his peers allowing the illustrations to then take up the entire page.

The repetitive structure that author Guarino presents, gives children the comfort they need to fully immerse themselves in the story. This kind of predictability in the text is excellent for emergent readers in helping them decode print.