Is Your Mama a Llama?

by Deborah Guarino, Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)

Lloyd the Llama discovers what kind of animal his mama really is in this delightful guessing game picture book, filled with whimsical riddles and endearing illustrations. Rhyming questions and answers will charm and amuse children. Full-color illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Storytime, Family, Poetry

14 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Lloyd tries to guess what kind of animal everyone’s mama really is:
“Is your mama a llama?”

So he discovers that the mothers of his friends are: bat, swan, cow, seal, kangaroo and of course a llama.

The first time you read it with your child, she/he probably try to guess the name of the animal's mother. It will be like a game. The second time you read it, she/he will probably remember :)

Cute, little book with rhymes.
Perfect for spelling and for beginners in reading.
Rhythmical riddles and beautiful simple images.

[Chadi Raheb]

ناتالی پورتمن قشنگ و گوگولی‌مون توی پست اینستای امشبش این کتاب رو برامون خوند و خواست که نفری ده دلار به فلان موسسه‌ای که‌ کارش کمک به بچه‌ها برای ادامه تحصیلشونه، دونیت کنیم.
اگه جایی خارج از برزخ/جهنم هستین، امروز از قهوه‌تون بگذرید و برید به پیجش و به اون موسسه کمک کنین.
شاید اگه بچه‌های بیشتری تحصیل درست‌تری کنن، این همه حجم کثافت در دنیا کمتر بشه...
natalieportman@

[Larnacouer de SH · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Swan! Is your mama a Llama?”
“No, she is not,” Jane politely explained.

//

SNSMSKSNJDKSKSKALDNSKNDKSK cutest!!

[Veronica Precourt · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is cute

[Lynnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe anyone would give this book one star. Those people clearly have never read this to a child, have no joy in their lives, and do not appreciate good poetry. I feel sad for them. This is by far one of the best rhyming board books ever! The illustrations feel a little outdated in style but luckily that just means it's "classic" now. The poetry is brilliant. The story is hilarious. My son started loving and smiling at this book being read aloud to him when he was just 8 weeks old. Maybe those people who gave it one star are just tired of reading it over and over and over to their children because it is such a favorite. If you have a child, go buy this book. If you need an idea for a baby shower gift, go buy this book. Seriously, you will not regret this!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Illustrations show there age a bit, I think.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute rhyming book about animal mothers!
Lovely pictures.

[DaveD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been reading this almost nightly to my boy. Some solid rhyming in this book and interesting animals, although the protagonist is a bit naive.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminds me (and Julia by the way) an awful lot of the Anna Dewdney books. Or, I should say that Dewdney's books remind me an awful lot of this book because I *think* this came first. I understand that writing a book that consists of "llama mama's" doesn't give one the sole right to "llama mama" books but I don't know, there is a striking similiarity if you ask me.
Anyway, I for one like that rhyme. A lot. It just has a real nice ring to it and it's funny as hell. Julia's taken to, on and off, calling me her llama mama and we both get a kick out of that.
This is fairly short, great for a quick bedtime story, and basically is the story of a little llama asking his friends if their own mama's are llama's. Each friend comes back with a response which rhymes which is then followed by the little llama seeing the light and rhyming with whatever the friends mama is.
I'm partial to kids books with rhymes, always have been. Julia doesn't so much care about that herself and can go either way, rhymes or no rhymes.
Julia liked the story, she liked the "baby llama" but she did not like the bat. Apparently the bat's cuteness factor was too low for this book. She also said the bat was "too enormous". (He is drawn kind of big I guess.) Other than that she could find no faults.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute short story. Love the rhymes and illustrations :)

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet children’s picture book about different animals and the different types of mothers they have.

[Audric the Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this one up until Deborah tries to rhyme 'Rhonda' with 'responded,' at which point I throw the book on the ground. Hasn't stopped my mom from forcing it down my throat though. Ugh.

[Aki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nicht mein Stil und ich frage mich immer noch was Lamas in Australien machen. Wobei Schwäne vlt auch nicht in Südamerika leben...mhmm..

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beloved childhood favorite.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rhyming guessing game as a young llama asks several different animals "Is your mama a Llama?" All the different animals answer in rhyme and verse the llama's question.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall cute. Some of the rhyming is a bit clunky (the kangaroo section in particular), but my daughter seemed to enjoy it. At least enough to want it a second time this week.

[Ethan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is Your Mama a Llama? by Steven Kellogg is folklore, and I love how it's about a llama asking other creatures a simple question. I love how the setting is out in nature. I love how all of the characters are various types of animals. I can see it possibly being something I use as a read-aloud with my future classroom.

[Brendon Desrochers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite not always using commas properly in direct address, this is a clever book and a crowd-pleaser.

[Jessica Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Your Mama a Llama? is a children's book about animals written by Deborah Guarino. In the book, Lloyd the llama is very interested in what kind of animals all of his friends mama's are. She begins asking every friend that she sees if their mama is a llama but she finds that all of the friends she asks do not have llama's as mama's. She asks every friend that she knows about their mama until she comes to the last friend who has a special surprise for her about her mama that she didn't realize. The book is filled with wonderful lines of rhyming that intrigue the child to continue reading. There are several characteristics of this book that captivates the child other than rhyming. The first thing that really caught my eye was the fact that she wrote the book to have the rhyme on the first two pages and then the answer to what that particular animals mama was is on the next page. I found myself wanting to guess what was on the next page using the rhyme instead of simply reading the words on the next page. Children love to guess and I know that this is a grasping aspect of the book for them. The other characteristic that really would catch children's attention in this book is the fact that it is all about animals. Many children love animals and love to talk about them and this book gives them the chance to do so.

I absolutely loved this book except for the ending. The book is an awesome way to get children used to using rhyming words as well as allowing them to use their critical thinking skills and guess what animal is on the next page. I myself really enjoyed reading the rhyming words and about all the different animals so I know that the children would probably feel the same way. Although I really loved this book I really did not like the ending. I think that it is critical for children to use their thinking skills and to be challenged but for the age level that this book is written at I feel that leaving the ending with an ellipsis for the children to create on their own ending is confusing and entirely too difficult. I think that I would use this book for probably second or third grade. It could be integrated into an animal/science lesson or it could also be used in a language arts lesson about rhyming and or foreshadowing.

The illustrator of this book was Steven Kellogg. The illustrations are all very sketched looking and appear as if they had been completed using water colors. I really loved the scenery that the illustrator chose to portray of each animal and their habitat. I thought that he did a great justice depicting where the animals would actually be found in the wild and how they would look if you found them. I loved the colors that he used in each picture. Depending on the picture he would use a dark or cool palate to depict and cool and wet place and a warm palate and colors to depict a warm and dry place. I think the colors of the pages make you feel as if you can really understand and feel the atmosphere at the time. The animals look mostly realistic, even though there are some idealized qualities of them. Over all the illustrations lend to the fun and whimsical quality of this book.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story for young readers to listen to and to read themselves. It is full of fun rhyming riddles. This is a classic. Lloyd the baby llama meets a different animal on every page; Lloyd asks them, “Is your mama a llama?” The rhyming riddles the animals give Lloyd help him to guess what kind of animal everyone’s mama really is. When he asks his friend Llyn the llama his question he finally gets the answer he has been waiting to hear.
Uses for Is Your Mama a Llama?: (Read-Aloud Comprehension)

1. Read Is Your Mama a Llama? While the story is being read encourage the children to supply the rhyming word that tells the correct animal answer.

2. Hand out paper animal puppets to seven different students; tell them that you are going to read the story again. The student who is holding the baby Llama puppet will stand beside the teacher as the story is being read. The other children will be sitting while listening for the next animal hint. As the hint is given the student who is holding the correct animal will stand up and say their animal’s name and then join the student holding the baby llama puppet.

3. After the story, have students to retell the story in their own words using the puppets to help them.

4. Next, have students sit in a circle on the floor. Scatter all the puppets on the floor in the middle of the circle and have the students line them up in the order that they appeared in the story.

[Crystal Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time this book came on my radar was when Patrica Arquette was reading it to her daughter on the show Medium. It had such a fun rythm to it that I vowed to look for it the next time I was in a bookstore. Over the summer I was in a used bookstore in Steveston and found it in paperback for $2.00. I had to buy it.

This book sits on my bedside table and I frequently read it to Bella when she is either falling asleep or just waking up. I only read it to her when she is sleepy because she loves turning the pages and I'm afraid she will rip them. However this book is available in board book format so she may end up with it in her Christmas stocking. The illustrations are beautiful and I haven't tired of reading it yet. I also love it when my husband is in the room and I check to see if he is listening by asking him what kind of animal Lloyd's friend's mamma is. I can't wait until Bella is old enough to shout out the answer!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this reissued and revamped version of a classic story, a llama named Lloyd asks various animals if their own mothers are llamas. Each young animal responds in the negative, pointing out characteristics that make their mothers unique. Thus, readers can simply enjoy the rhyming story and its conclusion in which Lloyd's mother finally makes an appearance or they can respond to some of the questions that ask them to pay attention to certain details or notice rhymes as they read. This small book, part of the StoryPlay series, also includes more activities and helps youngsters develop various pre-reading skills while developing comprehension strategies. The book is fun to read aloud.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Is Your Mama a Llama?" is a very good book to read to children. It is an excellent form for predictability and pattern. The book allows student to guess what kind of animal is being surprised. They are learning about new animals, they may never have heard of before. Also, the pictures in this book portray the story really well and are quite beautiful illustrations. I would definitely read this book in my classroom.

[Bhargavi Balachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo loved this book. She squealed in delight every time she could guess the animal the clues were given for. She loves books that rhyme and are a little silly- so this one was just perfect for her. Illustrations were super duper cute. Overall a lovely read! We will surely read this a few more times before it goes back to the library, and maybe even look out for our own copy, if she enjoys it consistently after the 'newness' of the book fades

[elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both of my kids loved this fun rhyming book when they were toddlers and preschoolers, and I've also used it for preschool storytimes. Kellogg's pictures are great, as usual. My older son started calling me "Llama" when he was 8 or 9, which I love!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young llama asks his friends if their mamas are llamas and finds out, in rhyme, that their mothers are other types of animals.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good repetition...

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this aloud once to a child and you'll probably have to read it again and again and again and ... it's been 14 years now and we still recite the rhythmic lines together (from memory).

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictures are darling. The rhyme in Spanish is a bit forced because of the stress, but for the most part, it still works.

[Yuckamashe · Rating 4 out of 5]

My all time favorite read aloud!