Books for Babies

April 2011

My baby girl is six months old and she already loves books. She sits on my lap every night and she looks at the illustrations of the book I am reading to her with all the concentration she can muster. She already feels it is our bonding moment, the time before going to bed when playing is over and she has to relax and listen to a wonderful story that will provide her with materials for her dreams.

Before she was born, I started gathering books for her. I was determined to find stories which either featured two moms or weren’t centered on a dad and a mom. I know she will have a lot of that in the future, and I wanted her bookshelves to reflect her life and the things that interest her. Of course, she will choose her books as soon as she is able to do so, but so far, these are my favorite books for babies with two moms (for any baby, as a matter of fact):

Being friends, written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Joy Allen. We learn about the sweet friendship of two girls through rhyming text and unforgettable illustrations. The two girls are very different: one is a tomboy and the other one loves dresses and dolls. They talk about their differences, but every page ends with something that they have in common: “I like mornings. / You like nights. / We both like having pillow fights. / We both like being friends.” A very special book indeed.

Emma and Meesha My Boy, written by Kaitlyn Considine and illustrated by Binny Hobbs. The greatest thing about this book is that, even if the main character is a girl with two mommies, the story has nothing to do with that. The family’s pet, a chubby housecat, is the victim of Emma’s pranks. She has to learn how to be nice to animals. The book teaches children respect and diversity without any preachiness at all.

I Like Myself!, written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow. Amazing illustrations for the story of an African American girl who is full of joy and loves herself no matter what others may say. Her thoughts are absurd and funny. For instance, she assures us that “I’d still like me with fleas or warts, or with a silly snout that snorts”. Beautiful and empowering.

Oh The Things Mommies Do! What Could Be Better Than Having Two?, written by Chrystal Tompkins, illustrated by Lindsey Evans. Don’t you love the title of this book? It is also very colorful and the text has the rhythm of a song, so babies really enjoy listening to it being read. Each page shows a different two-mom families doing typical things such as making breakfast, going to the zoo, making crafts and giving goodnight kisses. Mommies come in all shapes and colors, which is also wonderful.

The Family Book, written and illustrated by Todd Parr. I love all Todd Parr books because the illustrations feature girls and boys whose skin can be green, pink, blue, red, purple… This one talks about all the different families that there are: with stepparents or stepsiblings, adopted children, two moms, two dads, just one parent… The book teaches children to celebrate the uniqueness of their families and to find what they all have in common: for example, they like to hug each other, they are sad when they lose someone they love and they enjoy celebrating special days.

What I like about these books is that they can be enjoyed by babies because of the illustrations and the musicality of their short texts, but also by older children who will discover the stories as they grow up. Needless to say, adults will cherish these books as well. Good literature is always ageless.