Mommy, Mama, and Me

by Lesléa Newman

Illustrated by Carol Thompson

Newman, Lesléa. Mommy, Mama, and Me. Ill. by Carol Thompson. Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2009. ISBN 9781582462639

Plot Summary

This is a simple story of a day in the life of a young toddler. The toddler describes what his/her mommy and mama does with them.

Critical Analysis

Lesléa Newman's easy text consists of one sentence per page. One every left page of the book is a sentence about what the toddler's mommy, while every right page is about the toddler's mama. This is the main point in the story where the LGBTQ culture is expressed. The story has a nice flow with the end rhyme on facing pages. The story shows readers that happy families come in all varieties, including having two mommies.

Carol Thompson's illustrations are colorful and bright and definitely enhance the impact of the book. In all the drawings the toddler's mommy has short, curly, dark brown hair with earrings, and it's mama has red hair that is pinned up. The toddler has short curly brown hair. I haven't mentioned the toddler's gender because I am actually not sure. Newman does not mention a gender in her text, and Thompson's illustrations lean toward boy but it could be a girl. I see this as another cultural marker, no matter how subtle it may be.

Review Excerpts & Awards

• "The soft, realistic illustrations expand the simple texts." -School Library Journal
• "The bright colors (a green claw-foot tub has froglike feet) and pleasing verse offer a simple lesson about love that same-sex parents should embrace." -Publisher's Weekly
• 2010 Stonewall Honor Book Award

Connections

Read aloud Daddy, Papa, and Me created by Newman and Thompson