Customer Reviews

Two Moms, The Zark, And Me

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book starts off OK, the rhymes my 4-yo loves, cute pictures, and suddenly the straight couple appears - looking normal enough, but trying to steal the boy away from his two moms and give him to a family that they find better suited to have kids. I found myself trying to make up a story line as we read - and having to rhyme too! Being stolen away from your loving family by some normal looking people who turn out to be monsters seemed like a nightmare that could plague us for years, so I did my best to come up with a different story and then hid the book away. I regret having bought this book.

I had high hopes for this book. It had great possibilities with lesbian moms, a young boy, and even a pet monster that looks like a smiling dinosaur. But the real monsters are clearly identified by their big leering toothy smiles, evil eyes, and grasping paws--it's the Christian family of course. I may not agree with their dogma or share their lifestyle, but I see no benefit in portraying ANY archetypical characters in such a hateful, stereotypical fashion. We won't get past the prejudice with this book--and it's not enough for me to use it simply to portray another version of evil stereotypes for my son to hate and fear in his lifetime.

I read this book and thought that the negative portrayal of the hateful people who wanted to take the little boy away from his parents was not very useful. It's possible that it would be a good book for a child who had had to deal with this type of discrimination, but for one who hasn't yet, I would definitely not recommend it.

The world for a child with two moms ain't always pretty. This book was a chance for me to show my son that there are bad folk out there that his school isn't about to warn him about. NO book read to a child shouldn't be talked about, and this is no exception. The evil McFinks are displayed with every ounce of hatred oozing from their pores...Children of Lesbian couples usually know that the hatred isn't always visable.

On a personal note, my son thought the Lorax (one of his faves) was "WAY Scarier" than this one.

As a K-3 teacher in a very diverse community, this book was often requested to be read again and again. Many of the children I taught came from "non-traditional families" - many children having a single mom, or several moms and dads. They understood someone else telling them that their family was not "right" (or giving them a puzzled look) when just trying to explain what their family configuration is. This book may touch stereotypes of conservative and liberal views - but they are the views that the children in my class experienced. This book was a great conversation starter about widening our view about what the image of a "family" can be.

I have a wide collection of books of this nature. This was not the best I have seen. I have some concern about the story. It graphically shows the hate and prejudice by others. I do not think it was adressed very well. Even other Alyson Wonderland books do a better job of tackling this story line.

TWO MOMS, THE ZARK AND ME is about the adventures of a young boy who goes to the park with his two moms, meets up with a tame Zark, plays with this extinct animal for a while only to realize that he does not know where his moms are. He begins to ask people around the park for help. The McFinks think he doesn't have a family because he does not have "...a mom, a dad, two kids and two cars. And a house, and a yard, and a dog (or a cat)." Fortunately for him, he is able to escape (with the help of the Zark) and finds himself with MJ and Don. He is disbelieving of their generosity and willingness to help him find his moms until they describe their own family structure; a heterosexual couple with kids of their own who adopted several other children from different cultural backgrounds. They also explain that "real families come in all forms and all sizes." They all search through the park and finally locate the moms near the Lost and Found. There is a lot going on in this book that I wonder if children under the age of ten are able to take it all in. A story of a young child getting lost perhaps should not include anything other than the way in which he is safely returned to his parents, whether he has two moms, two dads or lives with grandparents. Several of the illustrations do not add to the sense of safety one would hope a lost child encounters. For example, when he reaches the McFinks, Mr. McFink is holding a potato in one hand and in the other hand he has a very noticeable sharp knife and Mrs. McFink holds a sharp nail file (which also looks like a knife). The illustrations border on cartoon like characters and at times their facial expressions are rather frightening. To an adult it is clear that one message which the illustrations portrait is that there are some heterosexuals who are unsafe and perhaps unfit parents. After the young boy has met MJ and Don the illustrations are much more pleasant and comforting. In my opinion, the story would have been more successful if he had not met the McFinks.