Crummy Mummy and Me

by Anne Fine

'I don't think my mum's fit to be a parent, really I don't.'

How would you feel if your mother had royal-blue hair and wore lavender fishnet tights? But Minna's whole family (including her mum's punk boyfriend, Crusher Maggot) is a bit unusual. Being the only sensible one is not easy for Minna...

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, 20th Century, Middle Grade, Classics, British Literature

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Though readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.

Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)

Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.

Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.

Reviews

[John Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most interesting things I found when reading this book is that it is thirty years since it was published. Aside from a reference to a VCR, you could think it was a modern novel.

It is not your typical book about a relationship between a young girl and her family. The girl starts off by seeming to be the adult in the family as well as quite unlikeable in the first story. Her development and relationships with others help her to grow into a character that I ended up liking.

The age group this book is aimed for will miss some subtle things that I noticed. This book has a lot of subtext. The mother is a character that under different penwomanship would have fit into a much darker type of novel. There are hints about this.

The book is down to earth and the characters grounded which is not always the case in books aimed at a younger audience. I would recommend this book to those who are teaching younger readers to read.

[Sarap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minna's mum is not any 'normal' mum. In this story the mother/child roles are reversed as Minna seems to act more like a responsible adult than her mother does!This book deals with issues that some young chidlren can relate to in a funny and enlightening way. There are 7 mini stories in this book, each about a different event in Minna's life. Minna gives the reader an insight on family feuds, dealing with pets dying or as well as parental relationships(amongst other things).

I'd recommend this book for yr 4/5 children to read independently

[Miriam Laverick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourites from childhood. Anne Fine deftly handles grown up themes, which children often deal with admirably, with a light touch. I’m trying to write a children’s book at the moment so this is perfect indulgent ‘research’.

[Lilyvandersteen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, this is hilarious. I may think that I'm not really cut out to be a mom sometimes, but Minna's mom is quite a bit worse than me even on my most scatterbrained days :D

[Adelissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

while I applaud and defend the right for people to express theirselves however they see fit, this book made me very uncomfortable. I suppose a secure child who hasn't been exposed to much might just see the humor, (and I had a secure childhood) but all I could see is all the horrible neglect and close to outright abuse, which isn't funny to me. Maybe that is the difference between this written back in the day and now, where we have netflix documentaries like the Trials of Gabriel Hernandez and are more informed about child abuse. Hate to be a debby downer I always roll my eyes when people start saying things about a baby playing with a dog etc like I am not one of these people that finds negative in everything and anything but I am always sad when children have to be the adult in the family. I know too many situations like that. I have a friend to fell into dealing drugs just so she could eat because her own mother wouldn't feed her at like age 12. Once you have kids, it isn't about you anymore.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has aged really badly. It's 1988 and the jokes about blue hair/blue rinse were a bit old even then. Now I'm not sure they make sense since the parents in this are the age of grandparents now and won't have changed a bit.

I also found myself wondering who the book is for. The main character is what we now call parentified and what I called a Saffy (Absolutely Fabulous) and someone who was one, it was a depressing, not a heart warming read.

I am a huge Anne Fine fan but I took this out of the bag I'm about to give to an 8 year old.

[Camilla Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book which not as good as reading it because of the annoying accents the narrator used. But... it was brilliant. Barely dated at all. Very funny and sweet and full of life. Loved it.

[Pieteke Hall]

This is a story from my childhood, 20 odd years later my family still quote this book "I CAN'T FIND MY SHOES!"
It's hilarious and definitely a favourite of mine still!

[Dove Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just as charming as it was when I was a kid. It hit all the nostalgia feels for me.

Anne Fine is a great children's author, and it's time to hunt down Goggle Eyes next.

[arroutada_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

tan de tardes de infancia, que recordos!!!!

[Tanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are 7 chapters in this book and each one feels like a short story. In the first one, we meet Minna and her little sister, their mother, and mother’s boyfriend. It’s obvious from the first page that Minna and her mum have reversed roles.; Minna is a teenager, but she’s the responsible one, she takes care of everything, including her mother. The mum often acts like a teenager, wears inappropriate clothes and her daughter has to tell her to get up in the morning.

The second chapter is the weakest: their TV is stolen, the family has nothing else to do so they decide to take a ride and see a bit of nature. What follows is the most ridiculous and far-fetched resolution to a burglary EVER.
Minna’s little sister was in the room when the TV was stolen, so she saw the burglar. Unfortunately, she’s a baby, so she can’t exactly tell them who it was. In the middle of the ride she starts screaming while staring at a mountain. So the rest of them also look at the mountain and they realize it kinda looks like a human head, if the human in question had green hair and weird haircut. So they turn the car around to go back to the city because now they now what the burglar looks like (why else would the baby be scared, right?). And than they see a guy with the head that looks like the mountain or whatever, carrying boxes. So they get out of the car and catch him. You mind if I repeat this? THEY KNEW WHAT THE BURGLAR LOOKED LIKE BECAUSE THE BABY SCREAMED WHEN SHE SAW THE MOUNTAIN.

Just when I thought the whole book was gonna be completely silly, it got much better. The stories became more believable: there are stray dogs, shitty cars, sick people, bad nurses and better nurses, huge houses and biological parents and zoo animals, there’s still silliness, but there’s also Minna realizing that regardless of how unusual her family is, when she REALLY needs them , they’re there for her. And does somebody’s hair color really matter all that much?

The edition (Croatian) that I’ve read is illustrated. I have no idea if that’s true for every edition of this book. Hopefully not, because the illustrations are very messy and don’t add anything to the story.

[Matthew Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this to my primary school classes for 30 years. It is a brilliant inversion of the harrased parents/ nightmare kids staple. Here nine year old Minna is the sensible one, while her punk rocker mum and biker boyfriend continually frustrate and embarrass her with their "delinquint" behaviour. Being of its time there are no drugs or child trafficing just a pair of somewhat lackadaisical twenty somethings saddled with two kids and not really the motivation to get their uniforms ready, provide a nutricious packed lunch or take them to a museum. A treasure

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crummy Mummy and Me by Anne Fine – Realistic Fiction, 4th grade and up – I was quite pleased to squeeze in an Anne Fine book selection. I read a few of her books last year and enjoyed watching numerous students read more and more of her books over the past year. This one was a little different… A young girl is pointing out through every chapter how her mom isn’t a terrific mom and isn’t sensible enough. I found it quite humorous overall.

[Emmalin S8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book from Anne Fine. It is very interesting and minna's mummy does not know how to be a mother and not fit to be a mother!Minna has a hard time trying to make her crummy mummy act sensibly. But then her whole family is a bit unusual,but whatever their doing is never dull!!

[Sana Shahid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good one!

entertaining! best for travelling.

[Eelika Rand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teate see lugu meenutab neid lugusid, kus toimub vahetus nt mehest saab üle öö naine ja naisest mees. Sest kas on võimalik, et ema, kes lubab lapsel olla üleval nii kaua kui tahab mis sest, et homme on koolipäev söödab sisse väiksele lapsele tohutus koguses erinevaid magusaid tooteid ja seal samas on heal juhul 10 aastane, kes ütleb, et ta ei tohiks neid üldse süüa. Ja ütleb emale, mis on normaalne riietus ehk millega kõlbab minna õpetajaga kohtuma.
Oh paras segasuma suvila pere, kuid armas pere. Mis vahet milline see ema, on tal sinine pea ja näeb välja nagu punkar, laps armastab teda ikka.

[Khoreutees]

What I tend to think of as the normal Anne Fine approach of examining a situation, in this case a young-ish child whose mother is an irresponsible punk, leading the child to take on most of the stereotypical parent roles (nagging about bedtime, getting to school on time, the right sort of food, etc). There is not really an overarching plot in this one, just a series of linked vignettes. It is OK, but not inspired in concept or execution. However, short enough not to get boring as a one concept book.