>Yesterday I got a call from a teacher at the elementary school. She called to let me know that she was starting her annual Caldecott Challenge (which involves getting her students to read as many Caldecott winning books as possible.) She also asked, a little hesitantly, if we had any books about families with 2 moms. I said we definitely did, because I feel that it’s really important to have them in the collection.

The classic banned book Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman; Mommy, Momma and Me, also by Newman, but in board book form; and my new favorite, In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco.

I didn’t bother to check the catalog to see if the books were in – I knew they would be. When the teacher stopped by, she thanked me and told me that earlier that day, a little girl had been teased because she has two moms. That made me so angry and so sad. But I was also happy that we had these books in our collection. Right then and there, I felt like what I do really matters. And I knew that it was because of me that we had these books, which seems vain, but it made me feel good. If I can help one little girl by having books like these available in the children’s room, then it is worth every complaint.

I don’t know what the teacher intended to do with the books. Whether she was planning to read them to her class or what. That would be great, but could be bad for her if someone ever complained. I hope she does though.

The following summary is from Patricia Polacco’s website:

In Our Mother’s House: The Story

Marmee, Meema, and the kids are just like any other family on the block. In their beautiful house, they cook dinner together, they laugh together, and they dance together. But some of the other families don’t accept them. They say they are different. How can a family have two moms and no dad? But Marmee and Meema’s house is full of love. And they teach their children that different doesn’t mean wrong. And no matter how many moms or dads they have, they are everything a family is meant to be.