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Summary
Summary
Originally self-published in 1989, Heather Has Two Mommies became the first title in Alyson's newly formed Alyson Wonderland imprint in 1990. The simple and straightforward story of a little girl named Heather and her two lesbian mothers was created by Newman and illustrator Diana Souza because children's books that reflected a nontraditional family did not exist, but a firestorm of controversy soon ensued. Attacked by the religious right, lambasted by Jesse Helms from the floor of the U.S Senate, and stolen from library shelves, it was an uphill battle for Heather. Thanks to the overwhelming support of booksellers, librarians, parents, and children, however, Heather Has Two Mommies has sold over 35,000 copies, launched a minor industry in providing books for the children of gay and lesbian parents and, as attested to by a recent New Yorker cartoon, become part of the cultural lexicon. In response to teacher and librarian concerns, the often controversial artificial insemination section has been removed for the tenth anniversary edition, making Heather more accessible to younger children, while maintaining the central message of love and acceptance that has endeared the book to countless readers. After all, as Molly, Heather's beloved teacher points out, "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other".
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This is a new edition of the now classic picture book, first published in 1989. The story opens with descriptions of Heather playing with toys in the tall grass behind her house. The child has two of many things including arms, legs, feet, and elbows. "Heather has two pets: a ginger-colored cat named Gingersnap and a big black dog named Midnight. Heather also has two mommies: Mama Jane and Mama Kate." As Heather enters school for the first time she observes that many of the students in her classroom have unique families. To illustrate, Ms. Molly asks the children to draw pictures of their families. Each drawing displays the differences found within each household, yet as Heather's teacher comments, "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." The author's text is simple yet powerful in its ability to move readers of all ages. Cornell's fluid watercolor and gouache illustrations breathe life into this delightful story. Each page is artfully and distinctly rendered to be a visual depiction of the beauty and joy of diversity. VERDICT Readers will be warmed by this glimpse into Heather's family, whether revisiting the text or experiencing it for the first time.-Claire Moore, Darien Library, CT (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
This seminal book about a little girl with lesbian moms has been newly illustrated in watercolor and gouache. The revised text (gone are details about Heather's conception and birth) focuses mainly on Heather's day at school--building block towers, playing dress-up, and drawing pictures of her family and comparing its make-up to that of her classmates'. The details are different, but the nontraditionalness remains. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Heather has two mommiesand a new look!Newman's picture book about Heather and her mommies first appeared 25 years ago as the product of desktop publishing and a determination to create a story reflecting family diversity. This updated version includes new illustrations by the commercially successful Cornell, which supply humor and avoid lesbian stereotypes that dogged earlier versions. In keeping with prior, small-press revisions, the updated text omits reference to alternative insemination, and the story resists focusing on angst Heather feels over having two mommies. No one teases her or otherwise makes a big deal of her particular family's configuration. Instead, validation is the order of the day, and when a circle-time conversation about families arises on the first day of school, Heather's teacher has her pupils draw family pictures. Although Heather is initially worried that she might be the only child without a daddy, the artwork reveals diverse family constellationsone child has two daddies, one has a mom, a dad and a stepfather, some have siblings, one depicts a grandmother and pets. "Each family is special," Ms. Molly affirms. "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." When Heather's mommies pick her up at school, they delight in seeing her picture. Welcome back to Heather and her mommies. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Newman's picture book is evidence that this modern classic of LGBTQ literature the first children's book to feature the child of two lesbian parents is a survivor despite the fact that, from its first publication, the book has been one of the most challenged in America. It was, in fact, the ninth most-challenged book of the 1990s, and this new edition seems sure to spark still more protests. Though a quarter of a century has passed, the book holds up well. With new illustrations and a slightly revised text, it remains a charming, sweet-spirited story that still fills a need, as children of same-sex parents too often continue to be subject to taunts, teasing, and other forms of mean-spirited opprobrium. Nevertheless, times are changing as gay marriage has become legal in 36 states, and Heather, in an understated way, has changed, too. In the book's first edition, Heather's two mommies were partners. Now though it goes unremarked in the text the two women are depicted wearing wedding rings; it appears that Heather still has two mommies, but now they are married! Newman and her new illustrator Cornell deserve kudos for bringing fresh life to this standard title.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2015 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
"One" can mean any number of numbers, as in one bunch of bananas (five) or one box of crayons (eight) - and, in this nimble counting book, one clan of any size. Gómez's adorable digital illustrations of friendly, bobble-headed people in moments of homey togetherness include multiracial families and two men holding hands. It's a clever way to show the variety between and within families, and Shannon concludes with an apt reminder: We're all part of "one earth. One world. One family." FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES! By Suzanne Lang. Illustrated by Max Lang. 32 pp. Random House. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6.) This book assembles and celebrates just about every possible permutation of adults and the children they're raising, using colorful, goofily drawn animals as proxies. Each page is framed like a portrait: Some children "have two dads. Some have one mom." Some are adopted, or live with cousins or stepsisters and -brothers. There are parents who are married and not. "If you love each other, then you are a family," the final pages say. By then the case has been made with wit and verve. HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES By Lesléa Newman. Illustrated by Laura Cornell. 29 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) It's hard to fathom now the scorn and fear this mild-mannered tale of a girl and her two moms occasioned when it was published in 1989. With attractive new art by Cornell, life in their "little house with a big apple tree in the front yard" looks pretty idyllic, and the first day of school is fun, too, until a boy asks Heather what her father does. She wonders if she's the only one with no dad. But the teacher has all the kids draw their families, and - news flash! - it turns out none are exactly alike. STELLA BRINGS THE FAMILY By Miriam B. Schiffer. Illustrated by Molly Clifton-Brown. 36 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) Meet Stella, a delightful red-haired preschooler who's the Heather of the two-dad set. Recalling the predicament of her once embattled predecessor, she's flummoxed when her class is told to invite a "special guest" for Mother's Day. "Everyone else had a mother," she worries. "Howie had two!" (The times, they are a-changing.) If it's odd that the teacher didn't foresee her discomfort, Stella's solution - to bring every single member of her extended family - makes for a raucous happy ending. MY FAMILY TREE AND ME Written and illustrated by Dusan Petricic. 24 pp. Kids Can Press. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) A picture book that invites you to read front to back or vice versa is the perfect format for Petricic's beguiling look at his globe-spanning family tree. No nationalities are specified, but his father's kin have an Old World aura, while his mother's ancestors seem Chinese. All are drawn with live-wire lines and witty, humanizing details - charmingly toothy smiles or protruding ears. Both sides lead to the showstopping centerpiece: the extended clan in a group portrait, with a neighbor kid photo-bombing. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.
