Mama Seeton’s Whistle by Jerry Spinelli (review)

“It was not a loud whistle. Or a fancy whistle. Just a simple, two-note whistle,” yet when Mama Seeton whistles it reaches the ears of her four children down the block, through the neighborhood, and across town, calling them home. After the children grow up and leave home for adventurous careers, Papa Seeton encourages his wife to try her whistle once more, and a bit of magic wafts her out-of-practice tune to her far-flung children, bringing them back for a much-needed visit. Spinelli sets his tender tribute to familial bonds square in mid-twentieth-century America, celebrating the era without getting bogged down in sentimentality and instead noting with gentle candor that the “old days became the new days” and “time went by, as time does.” Pham’s line and watercolor illustrations nicely support this clear-eyed look at the bittersweet passage of time; chipper vignettes are amusingly threaded together with the swelling red line of Mama’s whistle, with the occasional overhead perspective lacing the summoned together. Charming detail extends beautifully to the last scene, where the grown Seeton brood whistle for their own crew, which in modern America means more diverse but no less happy families. While the empty-nest trope will appeal to adults more than kids, youngsters will understand both the love and the silliness of a family call that reaches even adult children instantly, and the book may provide an opportunity for parents to put older family relationships into context. An author’s note explains the story is based on a real Mama Seeton with a real family-calling whistle.