Molly's Family

Garden, Nancy. 2004. Molly's Family. ill. Sharon Wooding. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 978-0374530024.

Summary
Molly and her classmates are getting their classroom ready for Open House Night.  Molly and several of her friends draw their families to decorate the walls.  When Molly is told that she can't have two mommies, she's confused and sad.  No one else is like her and she is unsure if she wants to hang up her picture.

Analysis
This is a great book to teach children that there are several different types of families in the world today.  Some children don't know their fathers, others are adopted, some have two mommies, and even others have multiple generations in their home.  This book teaches children that just because their family is different, doesn't mean that it isn't a real family.  Love is what makes a family real.

This book is a gentle way to show children that it is okay to have gay parents.  The pictures are beautifully drawn and do not show any explicit or confusing scenes for children.  The mothers are only shown holding Molly's hands and tucking her in at night.  These are activities that are typical for many families.  The illustrations also show many different types of people and even puppies!

I believe this book is a good way to introduce children to the differences that make ourselves and our families unique.  It is also a good way to help children understand that acceptance is key in learning about someone.

Review Excerpts
"Long-overdue...why are there still so few Molly's for child readers to encounter?" -- Kirkus Reviews

"Less overtly messagey than Leslea Newman's Heather Has Two Mommies (1989), this will open up discussion in many families." -- Booklist

"By tying this specific household to the general diversity within all families, Garden manages to celebrate them all. The soft colored-pencil drawings with their many realistic details depict a room full of active kindergartners. There is a squat sweetness to the characters as they work together to make everything look and feel right." -- School Library Journal

Connections
Check out these books about different types of families:
Newman, Leslea. Mommy, Mama, and Me. ISBN 978-1582462639 .
Newman, Leslea. Daddy, Papa and Me. ISBN 978-1582462622 .
Tompkins, Crystal. Oh the Things Mommies Do. ISBN 978-0578027593 .
Parr, Thomas. The Family Book. ISBN 978-0316070409 .
Parnell, Peter. And Tango Makes Three. ISBN 978-0689878459.