Newish and noteworthy books to read to your kids

Look for Oh The Things Mommies Do!” this summer, on Amazon.

A press release for the book says: “‘Oh The Things Mommies Do!’ is a bouncy, and playful look at the joys of a two Mom family. With its catchy rhymes and vibrant illustrations, it is a pleasure for children and parents alike.”

Excerpt: “Mommies ride bikes and conquer the flu. They keep on the fridge the things that you drew. Mommies jump on trampolines and plant gardens too. They sing your favorite songs with you! Oh the things mommies do! What could be better than having two?”

Coming June 2009 to Amazon.com; Early Readers: Ages 1 – 5; 28 pg picture book; 8.5″ Square Paper Back

Meanwhile, Publisher’s Weekly helps us find significant books for gay and lesbian parents. Blogger about books, Elizabeth Bluemle, writes: “Happily, there are some new offerings in the mix this season from sensitive and savvy publishers aware of the huge gap in the marketplace. I wish the editors at Tricycle Press could have seen my face when I opened their package containing two bright, glossy board books: Mommy, Mama, and Me, and Daddy, Papa, and Me, by Lesléa Newman; illus. by Carol Thompson (Tricycle, June 2009). Suffice it to say, I beamed. Then I got a little teary, thinking about how nothing like this existed when my nephews (with two moms) were born.”

“A picture book for slightly older children – Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude is Gertrude, by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Calef Brown (Atheneum, February 2009) – presents Gertrude Stein in all her salon glory as a literary figure and an arts afficionado, and also as a companion to Alice B. Toklas. Their relationship isn’t spelled out; it just is, the way the text mirrors Steins circuitous style without first explaining it.

“And finally, one more notable mention: Patricia Polacco’s In Our Mothers’ House (Philomel, May 2009). This is definitely a book intended to introduce a traditional audience to alternative families, and it does so with tenderness and love. Having a writer/artist of Polacco’s stature take on the topic will do a lot to reassure teachers and librarians who are on the fence about bringing books with gay or lesbian parents into their classrooms. It’s also an open-armed celebration of mixed-race and adoptive families; the two moms, called Marmee and Meema, have three kids, all ethnically varied and equally adored.”