WRITTEN BY KARIN KROGH
ONCE A MOM ALWAYS A MOM… WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?
MY MOM IS DIFFERENT, FULL OF TATTOOS.
SOMETIMES BEFORE BED, SHE RUNS HER FINGERS THROUGH THEM AND WHISPERS THE STORY OF EACH OF THEM…
THE SONG I LOVE… THE DANCE… THIS ONE WAS FOR YOUR SISTER!
I
BOOK… THE TRIP OF MY LIFE…
YM F A V O R I TE
AND SO ON, ONE BY ONE.
Have you ever noticed how moms come in different sizes and shapes? Uptight moms, wacky moms; long-haired moms, short-haired moms; moms who work at an office, stay-at-home moms; moms with tattoos and piercings; executive moms; nerdy moms; geek moms; athletic moms; extraterrestrial moms (whoops!). But when it comes down to it, every mom is the same: they love and fight the same way.
Once a mom always a mom is a book written to show that, although they may be different, mothers are all the same. Mothers take care of us, scold us, kiss us, tell us to put on our coats, want us to clean our plates, get worried if we don’t eat well, always want to be close to us, and sometimes want to be left alone… Get it?
So, think about what you’re mom is like. Imagine a list of 10, 20, 50 or 100 words to describe your mom’s way of being. Make a drawing of her, write down her name in different ways: with large letters, small letters, straight letters, fancy letters, just pen, crayons, black and white…
Then put all that together and tell your friends about your mother. Is she quite different from other moms?
Note: Instead of a mom, you may have a dad who is a mom, or a grandmother or a grandfather, or anyone else who loves you dearly and cares for you just like a mother would. You can talk about them as well!
I, KARIN KROGH…
I started telling stories at a young age, before I even learned how to speak properly… I used to sit on a little stool in my room and forced my sisters to listen to the same story over and over again: Little Red Riding Hood. I must have told that story three hundred times, each time with a new twist. No two times were ever the same.
When I grew up, I decided to become a scientist, but what I really loved was reading and writing. When my daughters were born, I got to join everything I loved the most: children and stories. That’s when I wrote my first books. Besides writing, I’m also a storyteller. And now there’s a whole bunch of people who like listening to my stories, not just my sisters…
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been drawing the images that my mind brings me and that my eyes see. But when I had to choose a career, I decided to be a veterinarian and put art aside. After I became a mother, a new window into drawing, art and children’s literature opened up again.
Illustrating this book made me dive deep into a feminine world, the universe of women, motherhood, professionals, friendship… I’ve had to bring back the common objects in our lives. Every woman has a “messy” closet and a purse. Every woman has to do a thousand things all at once. In our busy everyday life, the lap, caress, smell, and touch of a mother remind us of all of the love we’ve felt in our lives.
In this delightful work, I used the softness of watercolor, the strength of pens, and the plasticity of color pencils… I simply illustrated to represent women in color and paint.
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW MOMS COME IN DIFFERENT SIZES AND SHAPES? EXECUTIVE MOMS, NERDY MOMS, GEEK MOMS, ATHLETIC MOMS, ANGRY MOMS, NICE MOMS, TATTOOED MOMS? BUT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, EVERY MOM IS THE SAME. AS THE SAYING GOES, “ONCE A MOM ALWAYS A MOM”! WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?