Everything is Mama – Jimmy Fallon

Everything is Mama Jimmy Fallon
Everything Is Mama by Jimmy Fallon, Miguel Ordóñez
Also by this author: Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA, This Is Baby
Series: Dada Mama Baby
on January 8, 2019
Genres: Children's
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five-stars

Everything is . . .
MAMA!
Jimmy Fallon, one of the most popular entertainers in the world and NBC's Tonight Show host, was on a mission with his first children's book to have every baby's first word be DADA. And it worked! A lot of babies' first words were DADA. However, everything after that was MAMA.
So take a lighthearted look at the world from your baby's point of view as different animals try to teach their children that there are other words in addition to MAMA for familiar objects and activities, now available in board book.

Everything is Mama is the hit follow-up to Jimmy Fallon’s #1 NYT bestseller Your Baby’s First Word Will be Dada. While the latter hit the NYT list based on name recognition and not for its text, Everything is Mama is a beautifully written book that’s perfect for the littlest listeners and readers.

The animals are back, but this time everything is Mama. The mamas are trying to expand their little one’s vocabulary, but the littles aren’t having it. Sun? Mama. Waffle? Mama. Unlike the previous book, the animals are more anthropomorphized. (Mama Monkey has as skirt and a purse.) The vocabulary is perfect for a little one just learning to echo. And kids a bit older may love the joke of calling a waffle “Mama!”

Sun, waffle, hat, shoes, flower, boat, apples, ball, balloon, noodles, bubbles, pajamas, moon—they’re all mama. There is one panel, where baby Duck responds with “Quack.” It’s a break from the pattern and it’s not explained, but as a parent whose child has a speech delay, my interpretation was that some babies don’t say mama, they need extra time to say mama, and that’s okay. It really struck me in a way I didn’t expect and I don’t know for sure if that was Fallon’s intention, but I actually teared up a bit that my non-verbal child was included in a book about words.

The final two panels read “Everything is Mama according to you / But one day you’ll see, Mama’s everything is you.” It’s a beautiful, emotive finish that’s just absolutely perfect. I bought this for a friend who just had a baby, but immediately went out and bought another for my children.

five-stars