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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
u: you can't add a picture book
me: try me buddy
So this was nice and sweet and I can't believe it's fucking challenged and homophobes can fuck off
EDIT:
ok we discussed this in class and i can definitely see why the orignial version was challenged, but the new one is a-okay please
me: try me buddy
So this was nice and sweet and I can't believe it's fucking challenged and homophobes can fuck off
EDIT:
ok we discussed this in class and i can definitely see why the orignial version was challenged, but the new one is a-okay please
I didn’t realize the first edition of this book was self-published in 1989! That makes it more of a classic than I realized.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
While there are definitely not enough picture books depicting two-mom families, I'm not convinced that editing and re-issuing Heather Has Two Mommies was the right way to address that. This version of the book is... kinda OK as a "mirror" book? Maybe a bit better as a "window"? While this edition does cut out the part where the other kids pick on Heather, it doesn't do it with any particular grace.
After a looong setup about Heather's fun life with her two mommies (playing ball, making cookies, etc.), Heather goes to school for the first time. She's asked about her dad and feels weird about it for two seconds. Then the teacher decides everybody should draw their families! We see that Heather's classmates come from many family configurations (straight nuclear family, single mom, two dads, divorced parents with a stepdad, grandmother with dogs, another straight nuclear family - and also probably a third straight nuclear family for a kid who never gets a name?)
Then Heather's moms come to pick her up and she points twice at her picture talking about how "this is the mommy I love the best". The End! No attempt to cover the tracks of how, in the classic version, someone presumably asked "which mommy do you love the best?" Just a disjointed, unsatisfying ending that isn't connected to anything in this edition.
There are sooooo few "mirror" books showing two-mom families that this book is staying on my kid's shelf for now - but I look forward to the day when I find better options. I would also recommend "Mommy, Mama and Me", "Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming" and "Things in the Sea Are Touching Me" more highly to other folks looking for mirrors.
Edited to add: Also! Regardless of whether you're looking for a window or a mirror, I'd HIGHLY recommend pairing Flamingo Rampant's "Zero Dads Club" with "Heather Has Two Mommies"! The two books are very much in dialogue, covering very similar themes from different angles!
Then Heather's moms come to pick her up and she points twice at her picture talking about how "this is the mommy I love the best". The End! No attempt to cover the tracks of how, in the classic version, someone presumably asked "which mommy do you love the best?" Just a disjointed, unsatisfying ending that isn't connected to anything in this edition.
There are sooooo few "mirror" books showing two-mom families that this book is staying on my kid's shelf for now - but I look forward to the day when I find better options. I would also recommend "Mommy, Mama and Me", "Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming" and "Things in the Sea Are Touching Me" more highly to other folks looking for mirrors.
Edited to add: Also! Regardless of whether you're looking for a window or a mirror, I'd HIGHLY recommend pairing Flamingo Rampant's "Zero Dads Club" with "Heather Has Two Mommies"! The two books are very much in dialogue, covering very similar themes from different angles!
"Each family is special. The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." This is a fabulous book about the fact that children may have all kinds of families and that is just fine. I love the bright watercolor illustrations and the beautiful loving story and message in it.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A really short, easy to read book, that helps to normalize all the shapes and sizes in which families come. Some families have two mommies, some families have two daddies. Some families have one mommy and one daddy, and some families have a mommy, a step-daddy, and a daddy. And some families just have one mommy. But they're all special, just the way they are, and this book does a great job with that. A classic that all kids should read!
Glad to see that this is not on the most-banned list anymore. This book teaches kids that all families are different, and the important thing is that everyone in their families love each other. There is no mention of sexuality or how Heather's two mothers got Heather. I do not think any child has trouble understanding that two people can love each other and want to be with each other even when they are of the same gender, although the people who keep trying to get this book banned do.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cute book but definitely dated.
Just to clarify, the version I read was the anniversary edition and did not have the in vitro fertilization part in it. Interestingly enough, the library I worked for received the book from Newman herself, who seemed perfectly fine with this new version.
Anyways, it's not a bad book but there may be better options out there today. And as others mentioned, the pictures are really lacking for children.
I would recommend this book for same sex parents as a great beginning book for children who may be comparing themselves to other families at school. In the same vein, it can be great for many non-traditional families and for children who feel left out by not having one mom and one dad.
For thsoe kids with straight parents who may have no concept of same sex couples, And Tango Makes Three is probably the best book to introduce the concept. This book still seems to go slightly too much into detail in this context where as And Tango Makes Three presents it as a matter of fact instance in nature...if that makes sense. I'm not feeling particularly eloquent at the moment!!
Just to clarify, the version I read was the anniversary edition and did not have the in vitro fertilization part in it. Interestingly enough, the library I worked for received the book from Newman herself, who seemed perfectly fine with this new version.
Anyways, it's not a bad book but there may be better options out there today. And as others mentioned, the pictures are really lacking for children.
I would recommend this book for same sex parents as a great beginning book for children who may be comparing themselves to other families at school. In the same vein, it can be great for many non-traditional families and for children who feel left out by not having one mom and one dad.
For thsoe kids with straight parents who may have no concept of same sex couples, And Tango Makes Three is probably the best book to introduce the concept. This book still seems to go slightly too much into detail in this context where as And Tango Makes Three presents it as a matter of fact instance in nature...if that makes sense. I'm not feeling particularly eloquent at the moment!!