Rockstar

Rockstar, written by Saskatchewan singer, songwriter, and author Marny Duncan-Cary, is taken from a song that she wrote in 2002. She used the song as the basis for the text of this picture book.

Duncan-Cary tells the story of a busy mother who is constantly interacting with her two small children. She tries to keep her household going while managing the children’s schedules filled with “swimming lessons, dancing lessons, piano lessons…” Despite her hectic days, she still dreams of becoming a “rockstar when my kids are all grown up.”

Although this picture book was written for very young children, their parents might enjoy the storyline more than the children. Duncan-Cary’s life is filled with commitments and busy days spent raising her children. The musical notes she dreams of writing in the future become fanciful imaginary creatures scattered throughout the book. The illustrator, Val Moker, depicts these notes dancing with the mother on an imaginary stage as she performs in her future dreams. They travel with her in an imaginary limousine as well.

This book gives readers a picture of what real life looks like with young children: constant interruptions, hectic schedules, and endless everyday demands. Despite her dreams of becoming a “Rockstar”, Duncan-Cary is not unrealistic about her chances of success. She realizes that waiting until her children are grown up will present significant challenges because “the labels like ‘em young and firm, but I’ll start a new trend.”

Marny Duncan-Cary has won four Saskatchewan Country Music Awards. Her two previous picture books (Linger and Who’s That Man) are also extensions of her songs. Rockstar focuses on a mother’s experiences raising her children and rightly concludes that “raising kids is the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do…”