But Mom, Everybody Else Does

The Magic of Story

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But Mom, Everybody Else Does!
Illustrated by Doug Cushman

Dutton/Penguin, 2002
Available in Libraries

But Mom Cover

But Mom, Everybody Else Does! A funny picture book depicting universal situations in most families. Everybody has a messy room! Nobody has to wear boots! Ages 3-8. (But parents have been buying it for their teenagers!)

Author's Comments: As a parent and a former teacher, I am very familiar with the theme of EVERYBODY, NOBODY and the unlikely claims that follow… NOBODY passed the test. EVERYBODY gets a bigger allowance. NOBODY goes to bed early, EVERYBODY sleeps with the dog. As a classroom teacher, I loved using pattern books with children to spark creative writing. I would read a book, like Fortunately and Unfortunately, and ask children to create their own scenarios. It struck me that the pattern of EVERYBODY, NOBODY would set the stage for lively writing from children in school and dynamic discussions with children at home. Doug Cushman resonated with the concepts and created illustrations so typical of his humorous style.

What Reviewers Said:
In order to convince her mother that her acts and desires are not only legitimate but also universal, a young girl paints humorous and exaggerated pictures to prove her point …. "But Mom, everybody has a messy room", everyone gets a bigger allowance, and absolutely everyone failed that test at school. So it goes through nobody walking to school, everybody sleeping with the dog… Cushman’s illustrations never push too hard for effect, and so give credence to the girl’s outrageous conjectures, which serve as bright hailings to a vivid imagination. Kirkus.

Winters and Cushman explore the exaggeration of childhood complaints… For example, a little girl’s claim that Nobody walks to school is accompanied by a panorama of students arriving on conveyances ranging from a spaceship to a camel. The minimal text establishes the scenarios. Cushman’s watercolors have a flat static quality that underscores the deadpan humor inherent in common pleas. School Library Journal.

Awards / Book Club Selections:
But Mom, Everybody Else Does was chosen by the Children’s Book-of-the-Month as one of their selections.
It has also been translated into Arabic.

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