Library Visit

Today I went into my local library to pick up some books and DVDs to enjoy over the holidays. Naturally the children's section caught my eye, so I began browsing the books on display. I was pleasantly surprised with selected picture books. I don't remember their specific titles, but one was about a woman growing up in Kenya and another was about raising a bilingual child. It was great to see some multicultural/ diverse literature on their shelves!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their breaks!

Reflection of personal set of LGBTQ books

In Rudine Sims Bishop’s article, Selecting Literature for a Multicultural Curriculum, it states, “students need to recognize the diversity that defines this society, learn to respect it, and see it in a positive light. Literature becomes one of the ways in which schools can affirm pluralism (3).” Our society continues to become more diverse each day in respect to race, culture and sexual identity. Books become powerful vehicles that can help educate, correct misconceptions and give a mirror to students who are in underrepresented groups. Through this final project for TE448 I chose to focus on themes of sexual identity in children’s books. After reading and evaluating many LGBTQ books I chose three that I thought were the highest of quality and that did not encourage any stereotypes. The books I reviewed are, Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story by Kaitlyn Considine, Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman and Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters.

By reading and reviewing these three books and plenty of others I learned that a lot of LGBTQ books concentrate their theme around sexuality identity instead of just adding gay/lesbian characters to story. When the plot is based off characters being gay/lesbian there is more room for stereotyping. Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story was one of the few books that had a plot that did not revolve around Emma having two moms. The focus of the book was Emma learning to take care of her cat and she just so happened to have two moms.

Also, not being an insider to this group I was unable to relate to the characters of the books. But reading these books gave me the inside scoop of their emotions and personal feelings. Even though Heather was of preschool age, after reading Heather Has Two Mommies I learned that even the simplest of things such as reading a book, can trigger the emotion of feeling left out or different. Also in Between Mom and Jo, Nick struggles because his teachers are not accepting of his lesbian moms and home life.

These three books are of very different reading levels, but were still able to inform outsiders (like me) to topics I am unfamiliar with. A quote that we discussed in class was “Normal is only a setting on a dishwasher.” I have thought about these eight words countless number of times and believe it is something that all teachers should remember while teaching. No student is normal or the same, and therefore a variety of books need to be available in the classroom so that students can not only learn more but also can have their identity confirmed through these books.

Review of Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story by Kaitlyn Considine

Considine, Kaitlyn Taylor. Emma and Meesha My Boy : A Two Mom Story. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2003.

This charming picture book tells the story of Emma and her chubby cat Meesha My Boy. Emma is a loving little girl who gives her cat lots of attention. Throughout the course of the book, her two moms help her figure out the right way to take care of her new pet. At first Emma wants to clothe her cat in a dress and shoes, but her moms tell her no. She also wants to share her lollipop but her moms tell her that cats do not eat candy. Then Emma learns to give her Meesha My Boy food, water, hugs and kisses.

The story has a rhyming cadence that can best appreciated when read aloud. This pattern gives the book a sing-song feel which adds lightness. “Pet his fuzzy fur and if you’re kind to him, You’ll hear his purr (Considine 23).” The vivid and playful pictures bring life to the simple words found on the page. Each page is very colorful and full of background details such as flowerpots and patterned wallpaper. The illustrations also show the emotions of the characters which range throughout the book. For example when Emma paints her cat brown, her cat’s eyes are wide while Emma is giggling. Also when Emma hugs and kisses Meesha My Boy, her moms are seen in the background smiling with their arms around each other. This shows not only the love between them but also how proud they are of their daughter’s changing behaviors.

While this book does encompass LGBTQ themes they are not blatant nor are the main focus. Emma’s parents, in this case two moms, are trying to teach her the correct way to be nice to her cat. This is a common experience being carried out by a non-traditional family. This book does a great job of showing that non-traditional families are just as ordinary as traditional families. No stereotypes are used in this picture book. On her website Considine notes that the two moms are, “They just are everyday parents guiding her to be nice to the cat. In this fashion, it celebrates the lesbian mom family as it is, living ordinary lives.”

Twomombooks.com presents more background information on the author and why she chose to write this book. Considine stated that she was tired of always seeing traditional family books and wanted a two mom story for her children. She continues, “It's important for children to see stories that show their types of families. I think this is true for single parent families, children raised by grandparents, interracial families, etc. There's a real void in story books for these types of non-traditional families.” Considine is an insider to the LGBTQ community and lives with her partner and two children in Connecticut (Considine, website).

Considine, Kaitlyn Taylor. "Two Mom Books." http://twomombooks.com/index.html.

Review of Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

Newman, Leslea. Heather Has Two Mommies : Tenth Anniversary Edition. New York: Alyson Books, 2000.

Between the covers of this book, the emotions of a child without a traditional family are captured. Heather is a preschool aged girl whose favorite number is two. She has two arms, two dogs and also two moms. Her moms, Kate and Jane lead regular lives, being a doctor and a carpenter, respectively. This family goes on walks to the park and enjoys eating gingersnap cookies with milk. On Heather’s first day of play group she is nervous at first but then gets excited to see all the activities that she can engage in. She enjoys painting and building towers out of blocks. After naptime their teacher reads them a story about a boy’s father who is a veterinarian. When the others kids in the class start talking about their fathers, Heather feels left out. She begins to cry, but then her teacher assures her that she is not the only one without a father. The other kids in the class begin talking about their non-traditional families, including divorce, single parents and adoption.

In Heather Has Two Mommies the text tells the whole story. The illustrations are black and white and only modestly supplement the text. The pictures do show that some of the children in the classroom are multi-racial along with having non-traditional families. For example, David has dark skin and was adopted.

While the story focuses on Heather and her two moms, it also illustrates other non-traditional families. Stacy and Joshua both have two daddies, one through divorce and the other is gay. Miriam only has a mom and David was adopted. While it is wonderful that these are shown, this is not typical of most classrooms across the nation. This would not be culturally accurate, but it still helps to prove a point that there are multiple different styles of families. No stereotypical themes are used in this book.

At the end of the book there is an afterword written by the author to parents and teachers. Newman says that the idea from the book came from running into a woman and her partner who recently “welcomed a child into their home” (Newman, afterword 1). Being an insider to his group, she knew there were not many books published with LGBTQ themes and decided to write one herself. She wanted to “create a book that would help children with lesbian mothers feel good about themselves and their family” (Newman, afterword 2).

Review of Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters

Peters, Julie Anne. Between Mom and Jo. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006.

In this novel, Nick faces many of the traditional challenges of growing up. He has trouble in school and also with friends, but his main obstacle is his family life. Nick has two moms who vary in character. Mom is the protective and rational parent while Jo is outgoing and outrageous. He loves each of them but realizes that his family is different from others when entering school. Teachers don’t display artwork of his family because they don’t want to support the gay community. Nick’s babysitter wants to see his moms’ bedroom and thinks if she gets into their bed she will also turn gay. When Jo starts drinking too much Nick’s family life starts to dissolve. Not only does Jo move out but his Mom gets diagnosed with cancer. This book proves that a family’s love can get you through even the toughest of times.

Between Mom and Jo was told from Nick’s perspective which helps the reader connect even further with the main character and experience the events along with him. Dialogue is also used and helps the book have a more personal feel. The chapters are titled either Mom or Jo and focus on one of his moms.

Stereotyping is seen only within the context of the book itself. Nick and his moms are seen as this nontraditional family and the babysitter even worries if they will seduce her into becoming a homosexual. This stereotype is broken when Nick is outraged that anyone would think that way or that his moms would even consider doing that.

Author Julie Anne Peters has a very informative webpage which explains that she is an insider and wanted to give gay/lesbians their own genre of literature. Her inspiration to write this story was because “One day I was in the teacher’s lounge eavesdropping on a group of teachers. Parent-teacher conferences were coming up and one teacher said, ‘I made these special certificates for any of the fathers who come. What if both of Nick’s moms come’(Peters, website)?” She said that that this conversation stayed with her for a long time and needed to write a story about it.

I would recommend this book to not only to adolescent readers who are insiders but to anyone. Between Mom and Jo captures the magic of the love of a family which is a universal theme.


Peters, Julie A. "The Story Behind the Story of Between Mom and Jo." Julie Anne Peters. http://www.julieannepeters.com/files/MomJoInspiration.htm .

Review of Professional Resource

Hermann-Wilmarth, Jill. "Full Inclusion: Understanding the Role of Gay and Lesbian Texts and Films in Teacher Education Classrooms." Language Arts 84 (2006): 347-56.

In this article, insider to the LGBTQ community, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth discusses the adversity this community has faced and how teachers can help their students accept this non-traditional lifestyle. The first section of the article is titled, “Stumbling Blocks.” Within this section Hermann-Wilmarth discusses how both literature and public and private institutions have restrained information about the LGBTQ community to the public. In regards to literature she explains, “Unfortunately, books that address these issues are not readily available to elementary school students. In part, this is because so few exist, but it is also because few teachers know about the books that are available (1).” She also explains that it is easier to not have this type of book in the classroom, because they can spark confrontations. In regards to institutions she states, “many state and city governmental entities, charged with upholding equity and justice, continue to support book censorship (2).” But because of these factors resisting the inclusion of the LGBTQ community, teachers need to educated about this topic and know how to select quality pieces of literature. Examples of teachers rejecting LGBTQ themed books are found because they want their young students to remain “innocent.” Next Hermann-Wilmarth lists resources for teachers to become more educated in this field, both in the form of books and films. And finally before the conclusion there is a summary of well written LGBTQ children’s books. To conclude she states, “texts have power in classrooms (11).” She says that after teachers can accept LGBTQ books, they will also be able to integrate these issues in their classroom which can only lead to inclusively.

The reason why I chose Herman-Wilmarth’s article was because she was directly speaking to the teachers, in particular pre-service teachers. I was able to learn new issues concerning LGBTQ texts in the classroom. She indirectly states that teachers will make the difference whether or not there is inclusively in their classroom, and because “texts have power” they will be help educate. Herman-Wilmarth provides plenty of resources for teachers, that I could actually see myself purchasing and utilizing. This article is a great guide for pre-service or full time teachers that want to include LGBTQ books within their classroom but don’t know where to begin.

Another e-mail from an author!

For my final project I am focusing on LGBTQ themes in children's literature. One book that has come up multiple times in my searches has been Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah Brannen. There wasn't any mention about the author having ties to the LGBTQ community, so I took Jen's advice and e-mailed her. I received an e-mail back. It just goes to show that authors are approachable and check their email often!