Heather Has Two Mommies

by Lesléa Newman, Laura Cornell

Overview

Candlewick relaunches a modern classic for this generation with an all-new, beautifully illustrated edition.

Features an audio read-along! Heather’s favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, and two pets. And she also has two mommies. When Heather goes to school for the first time, someone asks her about her daddy, but Heather doesn’t have a daddy. Then something interesting happens. When Heather and her classmates all draw pictures of their families, not one drawing is the same. It doesn’t matter who makes up a family, the teacher says, because “the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love one another.” This delightful edition for a new generation of young readers features fresh illustrations by Laura Cornell and an updated story by Lesléa Newman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763679897
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/24/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	AD460L (what's this?)
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than sixty books for children and adults, including October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. A former poet laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts, she lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Laura Cornell has illustrated many books for children, including the best-selling picture books by Jamie Lee Curtis. She lives in New York City.

Lesléa Newman is the author of more than sixty books for children and adults, including the 2013 Stonewall Honor Book October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard.


I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and on Long Island, and I have been writing poems and stories ever since I can remember. The first thing I ever published was a poem I wrote when I was a teenager, which appeared in Seventeen magazine. I studied poetics at a school in Boulder, Colorado, called Naropa Institute (now Naropa University), and where I worked with Allen Ginsberg, one of my heroes. I now live in Massachusetts with my spouse, Mary Vazquez, and our cat Princess Sheba Darling (who is very spoiled). When I am not writing, I am wishing I was writing! I also read a lot, do crossword puzzles, go to movies and plays, weed the garden, and play with the cat (when she’ll let me). In addition to writing, I travel around the country, visiting high schools, colleges, libraries, and other community settings to speak out against anti-gay bullying.

I have published more than sixty books for readers of all ages on all types of subjects. Often I’m asked which of my books is my favorite. I always answer, “The one I haven’t written yet!” My poetry collection, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard, is a book that’s very dear to my heart and very important to me. If reading this book stops even one kid from bullying another, I will feel like I have done my job. I wrote the book by writing a poem a day for more than two months, and then going back over them to revise, revise, revise. I also did a lot of research: I read books, looked at videos, talked to people, studied the Matthew Shepard archives at the University of Wyoming, and visited the site where the hate crime that killed Matt took place.

Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:

1. I have a green belt in karate (Shuri-Ryu style).

2. I can turn a canoe on a dime (using a J-stroke or C-stroke).

3. I was once a clue in a New York Times crossword puzzle.

Editorial Reviews

...a frank, unapologetic, and ultimately cheerful portrait of a high-spirited preschooler who has two gay moms...
—Lesbian Review of Books

Nell Beram

It’s hard to fathom now the scorn and fear this mild-mannered tale of a girl and her two moms occasioned when it was published in 1989. With attractive new art by Cornell, life in their 'little house with a big apple tree in the front yard' looks pretty idyllic, and the first day of school is fun, too...
—The New York Times

“Heather has two mommies—and a new look! Newman's picture book about Heather and her mommies first appeared 25 years ago as the product of desktop publishing and a determination to create a story reflecting family diversity. This updated version includes new illustrations by the commercially successful Cornell, which supply humor and avoid lesbian stereotypes that dogged earlier versions. . . . Welcome back to Heather and her mommies.”
—Kirkus Reviews

The author’s text is simple yet powerful in its ability to move readers of all ages. Cornell’s fluid watercolor and gouache illustrations breathe life into this delightful story. Each page is artfully and distinctly rendered to be a visual depiction of the beauty and joy of diversity.... Readers will be warmed by this glimpse into Heather’s family, whether revisiting the text or experiencing it for the first time.
—School Library Journal

The details are different, but the nontraditional-ness is held in common.
—The Horn Book

Though a quarter of a century has passed, the book holds up well. With new illustrations and a slightly revised text, it remains a charming, sweet-spirited story that still fills a need...Newman and her new illustrator Cornell deserve kudos for bringing fresh life to this standard title.
—Booklist Online

Now a modern classic, the children’s book “Heather Has Two Mommies” is the perfect Mother’s Day book, times two.
—Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

02/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—This is a new edition of the now classic picture book, first published in 1989. The story opens with descriptions of Heather playing with toys in the tall grass behind her house. The child has two of many things including arms, legs, feet, and elbows. "Heather has two pets: a ginger-colored cat named Gingersnap and a big black dog named Midnight. Heather also has two mommies: Mama Jane and Mama Kate." As Heather enters school for the first time she observes that many of the students in her classroom have unique families. To illustrate, Ms. Molly asks the children to draw pictures of their families. Each drawing displays the differences found within each household, yet as Heather's teacher comments, "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." The author's text is simple yet powerful in its ability to move readers of all ages. Cornell's fluid watercolor and gouache illustrations breathe life into this delightful story. Each page is artfully and distinctly rendered to be a visual depiction of the beauty and joy of diversity. VERDICT Readers will be warmed by this glimpse into Heather's family, whether revisiting the text or experiencing it for the first time.—Claire Moore, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

2015-01-10
Heather has two mommies—and a new look!Newman's picture book about Heather and her mommies first appeared 25 years ago as the product of desktop publishing and a determination to create a story reflecting family diversity. This updated version includes new illustrations by the commercially successful Cornell, which supply humor and avoid lesbian stereotypes that dogged earlier versions. In keeping with prior, small-press revisions, the updated text omits reference to alternative insemination, and the story resists focusing on angst Heather feels over having two mommies. No one teases her or otherwise makes a big deal of her particular family's configuration. Instead, validation is the order of the day, and when a circle-time conversation about families arises on the first day of school, Heather's teacher has her pupils draw family pictures. Although Heather is initially worried that she might be the only child without a daddy, the artwork reveals diverse family constellations—one child has two daddies, one has a mom, a dad and a stepfather, some have siblings, one depicts a grandmother and pets. "Each family is special," Ms. Molly affirms. "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." When Heather's mommies pick her up at school, they delight in seeing her picture. Welcome back to Heather and her mommies. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews