SHAPED BY LOVE

A halcyon love letter from mothers for the children who transformed their bodies.

This epistolary piece begins with the dream of motherhood as a snoozing woman envisions her future with ruminative anticipation. Flash forward slightly, and Calatzis’ illustrations follow a racially and culturally diverse group of pregnant people as they anticipate what’s to come. Depicted (rather refreshingly) as hard work, labor ushers forth a new era, and these women become parents, mothers for whom love, possibility, and growth—physical and otherwise—abound. Powers’ thesis is a simple one—the child makes the mother, but it’s the latter who carries embodied proof of the life they’ll go on to share. The birthing parents cue largely female, and while a stretch-marked stomach makes a notable appearance, C-section scarring does not. Still, the identities and bodies rendered throughout prove thoughtfully, thoroughly diverse otherwise. The result not only offers context for the physical experience of motherhood— “wrinkles, sags, grays, / new markings to cherish”—but also provides a template for the kind of authentic self-love that only inclusive visibility can cultivate. Picture books about parenthood are plentiful, but few capture the corporeal experience with comparable care. Calatzis’ artwork, a stunning combination of collage and embroidery, underscores the act of making as being intentional and effortful, an aesthetic message deeply compatible with Powers’ thoughtful, empowering text.

As captivating as it is important, a lovely and essential tribute to the transformation wrought by parenthood.