My Mother Was a Nanny

Laura James has greeted readers with a strong debut as a picture book author/illustrator. My Mother Was a Nanny is beautiful for its simplicity. A lot is said with few words, and James’ beautiful paintings add much to the narrative. This is a wonderful representation of what life looked like for one family and the community of which they were a part.

This picture book is a love letter to James’ mother and is also partly informed by her series of paintings titled The Nanny. James’ mother, who is not named in the narrative, is seen taking on a number of jobs. She’s a nanny, she cleans an office, she makes all her family's bread, she sews, and she even makes a wedding dress and cake at one point. Much of the work the reader sees James’ mother undertaking is what would have been referred to by some as ‘unskilled’ or ‘menial’ labour. Of course, no labour is unskilled, but humanizing the people who work as nannies or cleaners, showing the work that goes into their jobs, and the relationships they have in their communities helps to push back against this narrative which is often rooted in classicism, racism, and sexism. James gently pushes back against these ideas by framing the importance of this work on the very first page. “On Mondays, Mummy traded kids with the teachers, Mrs. Goldman and Mrs. Bing. I watched as they took my sisters to school.” Readers see the older sisters with their backpacks on and Mummy accepting a small child from one of the teachers. This highlights the necessity of the types of jobs James’ mother takes on and also illustrates the ways in which this work is grounded in community and reciprocity. Later, the teachers are shown talking with Mummy ‘for hours”.

Readers also see all of the other things that make up James’ mother’s life. She’s referred to as a friend, a baker, a good listener, a sister, and more. Often, these titles are paired with a vignette showing readers how Mummy’s work is integrated into her life and vice versa and the ways in which she applies skills from her various jobs to enrich the lives of those around her. Scenes like seeing her shopping at the greengrocer for the types of food she may have found in Antigua are paired with scenes like making pizza every Wednesday night with the leftovers from the bread she’s been making to help round out her character into something that feels real, complex, and nuanced. At the end of the book, it’s revealed that Mummy has made her three daughters matching Easter dresses over the course of a week. “‘I may be busy,’ Mummy said. ‘But I always have time for you.’” the text reads.

Laura James has illustrated two other picture books. That she has been working as a professional artist for over two decades shows in the quality of her work. Each two-page spread is a painting done in acrylic on linen. James has a distinctive style filled with colour and well-suited to conveying emotion despite the fact that simplicity is part of its charm. The images are very stylized and somewhat whimsical. In the middle of the book, readers see four paintings on a two-page spread whereas all other two-page spreads feature one painting. The paintings here show Mummy floating while she dusts a glass vase as large as she is, takes a child for a walk in a stroller, and carries on other daily tasks. These seem to be a subtle nod to her The Nanny series, and the break in tone with the rest of the story manages to not feel out of place. James does an especially lovely job with the many patterns that make up the textiles in her book. The images are deceptively simple but worth a second look. On re-reading, readers in the know may spot an ‘Easter egg’, appropriately, in that Mummy can be seen working on the Easter dresses during several scenes throughout the book.

My Mother is a Nanny is an excellent example of what picture books are and can be. Through a deceptively simple exploration of one individual’s everyday life, Laura James manages to prod at ideas of classicism, labour, love and community. This is a book that would work well as a lap-read or in a classroom setting. It would make an excellent first purchase for public and school libraries.