Illustrator’s agency: T2 Children’s Illustrators. Author’s agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. After being told that boys don’t wear skirts and bracelets because “That’s just the way it is,” she responds, “Not anymore.” Ages 5–8. Tricycle, 7.99 (20pp) ISBN 978-1-58246-263-9 A curly-haired toddlerpassable as either a boy or girlcelebrates mommy and. Newman’s straightforward text and dialogue offer examples of language that children and adults could use in similar real-life situations, and Jessie’s response to the library bullies might be the best of all. Lesla Newman (born 1955, Brooklyn, NY) is the author of over 50 books including Heather Has Two Mommies, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear. Mommy, Mama, and Me Leslea Newman,, illus.

The warm palette and smudgy edges of Mola’s ( Jeremy’s Dreidel) illustrations create a comforting domestic atmosphere that almost seems to provide a safe space for the sensitive emotions at play the children’s blushing cheeks telegraph their discomfort, embarrassment, joy, and pride. Throughout, the font is clear and bold and all of the colours are rich and striking.

The children’s parents and Abuelita are models of understanding (“If Casey wants to wear a skirt, Casey can wear a skirt,” says their mother), and Jessie’s breaking/turning point occurs at the library, where Casey’s skirt gets him mistaken for a girl and teased by older boys. Mommy, Mama and Me Author: Leslea Newman Illustrator: Carol Thompson Publisher: Tricycle Press What a treat: a warm and adorably illustrated board book about a loving family which just happens to have two mums in it. Sibling dynamics can often be thorny, and in Newman’s ( Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed) compassionate story, Jessie isn’t sure how to react when her younger brother, Casey, wants to wear a “shimmery” skirt and “glittery” nail polish. The world first met Heather, Mama Jane and Mama Kate in 1990, with the release of Lesla Newmans Heather Has Two Mommies.

Leslea newman mommy