Heather Has Two Mommies

Title: Heather Has Two Mommies (10^th Anniversary Edition)

Author: Leslea Newman

Illustrator: Diana Souza

Genre: Picture Book – Realistic Fiction

Theme: The most important thing about any family is that all the people in it love each other.

Other Relevant Information: Written in 1989 but with the new edition, the text is shorter in order to reach a younger group of children by eliminating controversial parts such as the detail of Heather’s conception and birth.

Summary: This book is about a girl named Heather, who has two mothers. When Heather, the preschooler goes to play group for the very first time, she learns that some of her friends have different kinds of families. Molly, the head of the play group asked the children to draw pictures of their families, with a focus on how each family is different but yet the most important message from the illustrations are how there is love within each family.

Literary Elements:

This book is classified as a realistic fiction book due to the accurate portrayal of a child with two mommies and how the child reacts to the fact her classmates have different families. The setting of this story mainly takes place during play group under the supervision of Molly, the head of the play group. The setting is an integral aspect to Heather’s understanding of how her family is “special” due to the fact she has two mothers and that it’s okay that families are different. The illustrator shows play group through the children’s illustrations which provides the reader with a sense that play group is children centered where they make discoveries about themselves. The author develops the character Heather with an innocence that reaches the reader and encourages the reader to step into Heather’s shoes with a heart-felt reaction to her realization that she does not have a father. With Heather’s young age, it helps ease the reader into a controversial issue within the plot itself. The book is written as if it was through the author’s observation of Heather and her situation. How important her mothers provide a loving home and a child learning about the diversity found within families. With this social justice/diversity issue presented in the story, the text is written with the sense of two mothers are more than okay. For instance the author writes, “Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet. Heather has two pets: a ginger-colored cat named Gingersnap and a big black dog named Midnight. Heather also has two mommies: Mama Kate and Mama Jane.”

Evaluation:

As mentioned before, this book was written in 1989, which speaks volumes on the impact of this controversial story during a time when gay/lesbian literature was challenged to an extreme. Leslea Newman’s courage is displayed by her brilliant words and her message is revealed and appreciated through Diana Souza’s illustrations. Even though each page is accompanied by black and white illustrations, the drawings of the children’s families provides the powerful message that Newman was seeking as she wrote this book. This book is a well -developed portrayal of the challenges children of gay/lesbian parents face as they are sent off to school. I appreciate how the author does not shy away from possible controversy by displaying a child that is concerned with not having a father but then realizing each family is special. However I wonder if the original book was indeed inappropriate for young children with how Heather was conceived. Is this a topic that should be addressed at a later age? When is it the right time to introduce a story as controversial as this one?