If you are a parent you will probably be familiar with The Tiger Who Came to Team by Judith Kerr, Alfie gets in First by Shirley Hughes and What Do People Do All Day by Richard Scarry, or maybe you remember them from your own childhood.
But have you ever taken a good look at the pictures in the books? What does mum actually look like? Does she need to comb her hair? Does she have a bun? Or maybe she is an elephant?
Martha Kearney asks Bridget Strevens-Marzo, illustrator and writer, and Dr Penni Cotton, Research Fellow at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature, how mothers are represented in children's picture books and how stories in the UK compare to those around the world.
Dogger by Shirley Hughes
Goodbye Moss by Judith Kerr
The Sad Story of Veronica who played the violin by David McKee
Really Really by Kes Gray and Nick Sharratt.
Books discussed...
Where the Wild things are by Maurice Sendak
Kiss Kiss by Bridget Strevens-Manzo
Crummy Mummy by Anne Fine
Angry Arthur by Hiawyn Oram illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura
A Walk in the Park by Anthony Browne
The Piggy Book by Anthony Browne
JEZ (Hedghog) by Katarzyna Kotowska
