Whether you’re a non-Christian, tired of the same old creation stories every Christmas, a pagan interested in creative storytelling, or a feminist who knows that honey, you can’t make a new life without a mama, you’re going to love this book.

Big Mama Makes the World might just be my all-time favorite children’s picture book, ever ever ever. Written in saucy, down-home language by the hilarious Phyllis Root, it is the story of the birth of mankind, courtesy of Big Momma.

Big Momma is a round, loving roly-poly woman (goddess? it’s never really alluded to). And instead of “In the beginning, God made…” we instead get the sassy alternative of Big Momma rolling up her sleeves and getting to work, “wasn’t easy, either, with that little baby sitting on her hip.”

In the true “ain’t Mama happy, ain’t nobody happy” tradition, Big Momma juggles making the world without a hitch as she does housework like laundry, always with a baby near. When Big Momma says Light, “you’d better believe there was light.”

And just as God pronounces these things good in the Bible, Big Momma says, “That’s good. That’s real good” after each creation she gives life to. Each day she creates more things, akin to the daily creations found in the Bible; the difference is the allusion to the “big bang,” her rolling people out of mud (instead of creating a man and “his companion”), and definitely her irreverent humor and loving Southern twang.

The artwork is completely gorgeous, complete with the roly-poly baby and the “folks” Big Momma makes to “keep me company.” She even has all of these people come over to her house, to sit on the stoop and talk with in a neighborly fashion.

Any mom making the world would agree with Big Momma’s method: “When Big Momma made the world, she didn’t mess around.” She even points down at her creations while resting, reminding them, “Better straighten up!” Big Momma is the epitome of working, no-nonsense multitasking mothers everywhere, and whether you think the world was made by a female or not, you’re bound to get a laugh out of the story.

Parents could even use the text for theological discussion—how does it differ from your religious teachings? Could God have been female, and why or why not? If you’re teaching about various creation myths from around the world, why not add this text to your arsenal as well?