Wednesday, August 24, 2011

IN OUR MOTHERS’ HOUSE by Patricia Polacco


This is part of a series spotlighting gay parents in Children’s Literature. Please visit Jonathan Arnston’s blog for more.

From Goodreads:
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.

My review:
IN OUR MOTHERS’ HOUSE is wordy for a traditional picture book. It's always interesting to see how the "rules" can be broken. Author/illustrator Patricia Polacco does what she does best—tells a lovely story with words and pictures. The story is told in first person from the perspective of the oldest child. And it brings them full circle to when the children are grown and having their own children.

I totally thought it was a true story, but the jacket flap says that Patricia wanted to showcase the family structures of many of the children she was meeting at her author visits. I love that.

Philomel, 2009

Visit Patricia Polacco at her website.

5 comments:

Jonathon Arntson said...

Patricia Polacco is one of my favorite authors and illustrators (and she's from Michigan!)

IN OUR MOTHERS' HOUSE has been a fun book to give as a gift.

Anna Staniszewski said...

I hadn't heard of this book. Thanks for telling us about it.

Kelly Polark said...

The story must have been told well if you thought it was a true story!
Will be on the look out for it!

Heather Kelly said...

I love that she wrote this book for her readers, and to reflect their lives. How awesome. Thanks Kris!

MG Higgins said...

In the cover illustration, it looks like the kids are racially diverse, which is also cool. (I've left something for you on my blog.)