Buy used:

$9.95

FREE delivery March 29 - April 4. Details

Or fastest delivery March 23 - 25. Details

Used: Good | Details

Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas

Share

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Leslea Newman

Heather Has Two Mommies Paperback – September 1, 2009

by Lesléa Newman (Author), Diana Souza (Author)

18 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$34.99

$36.09

Paperback

"Please retry"

$9.95

$40.00

$5.97

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

—

$34.50

When Heather goes to playgroup, at first she feels bad because she has two mothers and no father, but then she learns that there are lots of different kinds of families and the most important thing is that all the people love each other.

Reading age

5 - 6 years
Print length

36 pages
Language

English
Dimensions

8.5 x 0.25 x 11.25 inches
Publisher

Alyson Pubns
Publication date

September 1, 2009
ISBN-10

1593501366
ISBN-13

978-1593501365
See all details

Leslea Newman
618
Paperback
8 offers from $5.33
Leslea Newman
31
Paperback
21 offers from $1.73

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Leslea Newman is the author of many children's books, including "Too Far Away to Touch" and "Thea's Throw." Her literary awards include the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award and a Parent's Choice silver medal. Diana Souza illustrates and desig

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Alyson Pubns; Anniversary edition (September 1, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 36 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1593501366
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1593501365
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 - 6 years
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.25 x 11.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,916,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,498 in Children's Parents Books
- #18,588 in Children's Books on Emotions & Feelings (Books)
- #96,968 in LGBTQ+ Books

Customer Reviews:
18 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		58%
4 star		24%
3 star		10%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		9%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Mom of 4

Excellent for young kids and families that look a little different!

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Excellent book to help younger kids understand same-sex parent families!

Helpful

Cassandra Gelvin - DRTTMK

The only interesting thing about it is the title. And someday, even that won't be interesting.

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2018

It's one of those books, like "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats, whose mere existence is important. I am kind of stunned that it took until 1989 for something like this to be published, and with a rather small niche press. So it's a revolutionary book concept, but the book itself is just okay.

There's a little girl named Heather. She likes the number two. She has two mommies. The illustrations seem like somebody copied them from the nineteen sixties or earlier. The book is just full of--I don't know what to call it--hippie-type stuff? But it's not necessarily stuff the hippies actually cared about at the time. Although to be fair, one of the moms has a shirt that says "no nukes" on it, and that's quite hippie-ish. Nearly every family at the playgroup Heather goes to is nontraditional in some way, to a point that breaks my suspension of disbelief. Is it a playgroup aimed at nontraditional families? It's like playing minority bingo.

It's kind of interesting that that they actually mention the doctor putting sperm into Jane (the biological mother)'s vagina. It doesn't talk about what that means except that a baby grows there. They have a midwife, who is drawn like a female Jesus or something. One mother is a doctor, one mother is a carpenter. I mean, congratulations on having characters who break traditional gender roles, but it actually reinforces the stereotype that lesbians tend to be more masculine than straight women. Everything in this book is just too convenient.

At the playgroup, Molly, the woman who runs it, reads a book about a boy whose father is a veterinarian. The other kids talk about their daddies, and Heather basically starts crying because she doesn't have a daddy. Molly says, that's okay, not everybody has a daddy. Another girl says that she doesn't have a daddy, just a mommy and a sister (it doesn't explain whether her father is dead or just not around). Stacy says, I have two daddies. Another kid says, I have two daddies also, my dad and my step-daddy. Then they all draw pictures of their families, this super-multicultural group. Juan has a mommy and a daddy and a big brother named Carlos. Miriam has a baby sister and a mother. Stacy has two daddies. Joshua has a mommy and a stepfather and a daddy. David has a mommy and a daddy and two brothers and a sister, all of whom were adopted, and one of them uses a wheelchair. Like he hit the token minority lottery.

Heather's mommies see her picture of them, and then they go home. And that's it. I mean it's got a great message, it's just boring.

In the new edition, copyright 2015 and illustrated by Laura Cornell (who also illustrates Jamie Lee Curtis's books), some of the text was actually changed. It no longer mentions that Heather is making a table with her carpenter mother. The teacher doesn't explicitly state that it's okay to have two mommies. It kind of glosses over Stacy's two daddies, and David, the lottery winner, isn't even mentioned. The text seems a bit modernized, but it's still quite boring. It has some slight improvements, but some changes made it a bit worse, so it evens out.

Maybe if this story was about an actual real person with two mommies, it might be more interesting. Or about some kind of interesting event. But as it is, it's a boring day in someone's life.

Message: Children with two mommies are just like any other child.

For more children's book reviews, see the drttmk website.

Helpful

gayle h. swift

A Landmark Book is Updated

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2016

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman is a twenty-fifth anniversary reissue and re-visioning of the groundbreaking story of a family with two moms. Both the text and the illustrations have been updated to reflect current understanding of adoption. The subtle watercolor illustrations by Laura Cornell set a warm mood for the upbeat text. While Heather’s family–and her two moms is a central part of the story, the nucleus of the story is about the wide range of families that are reflected among Heather’s classmates. By establishing this tone, the uniqueness of Heather’s family does not seem startling. Instead it exists as one of many family constellations. Heather’s classmates also include many ethnicities so it is another nod to inclusion.

AQ Lens: This book offers a chance to discuss the idea of how families can look very different but still be a family. By having books like this on a child’s shelf, they can freely select it whenever they feel the need to explore this theme; thus the child doesn’t have to wait for adults to raise the topic first. The mere inclusion of such a book sends a clear message that it is a permissible topic. This is important for all adoptive families, even those who are more normative because all adoptive families are “different” by virtue of the fact that they grew through adoption. We have a fundamental vested interest in tolerance and acceptance. --Gayle H. Swift, "ABC, Adoption & Me: A Multicultural Picture Book"

Helpful

Bronx Book Guy

Very good but wish they didn't edit out a key part

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2014

I read another book by this author recently & found that said author wrote this famous book. Having never read it, I decided to check it out. Note that I read the 20th anniversary copy. This has pictures in color, does not have the infamous insemination section (disappointed -- I wish to check this out) and has an author's note, but unlike an earlier version, she doesn't talk about that section.

I find this a tad Orwellian. I do wish the upcoming edition provides this section, especially since lesbian couples actually conceiving a child, one partner being pregnant etc. is part of the life story other children see. Here, though the child looks like one of the partners, you can assume they just adopted the child. I'm with one article that felt this updated version lacks something, including one woman feeling the belly of the other, feeling the baby growing inside.

The remainder is a nice story. The couple sends their daughter on some sort of play date and it comes to her that she has two mommies but no daddy. She finds out that there are various types of families. This would be true even if you think homosexuality is immoral -- death, divorce or separation (the latter allowed even for Catholics) can result in various types of families. I find it striking that one person seemed to think that if a father died and a mother raises children with her mother, this would not really be a 'family.' Anyway, the inclusive message is nicely done with attractive color illustrations. It was more important twenty years ago but still a good message.

I think the edit lacks something though and the book is not "great" -- so four stars.

Helpful

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Heather Has Two Mommies Paperback – September 1, 2009

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.