| Juvenile Fiction |
| Picture Book Fiction |
Summary
Summary
"A tender story about the variety of people that make children feel loved and supported." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two daddies to do? It's not that she doesn't have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn't have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.
"Told with both a light touch and an astute eye toward a child's perspective and heartfelt concerns." -- School Library Journal
"A raucous happy ending." -- The New York Times
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Stella is worried. Everybody else in her elementary-school class has a mom-Howie even has two! She has two dads and no one to invite to the upcoming Mother's Day party. The other kids are concerned, too. Who packs her lunch? Who reads her bedtime stories? And what about when she's hurt? When Stella lists the many family members who help her, her friends see an easy solution to the party conundrum: bring them all. Daddy and Papa agree that it's a great idea, but Stella still has misgivings. All her worries turn out to be for nothing, though-the party's a great success, and she's not alone in not having a mom there. Best of all, Father's Day is next, and she's more than set for that. Schiffer's sweet story realistically portrays a child fretting over a worry that adults may not anticipate and having it solved by a loving community and family. Clifton-Brown's bright, detailed watercolors depict a fun classroom, and Stella and friends' arts and crafts. VERDICT A welcome addition for kids from all kinds of families.-Etta Verma, Library Journal © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's time to celebrate Mother's Day in Stella's class. Everyone has a female parent coming, including Howie, who has two mothers. But Stella is the only kid in her class with two fathers. And while her school is clearly progressive and multicultural, her peers are nonetheless perplexed (even Howie asks, "But who reads you bedtime stories like my mothers do for me?"). When Stella realizes that several people-in addition to her fathers-play maternal roles in her life, the problem is solved, although it does add quite a few folks to the guest list. "For Father's Day," Stella promises her exhausted teacher, "she wouldn't bring nearly as many people." First-time author Schiffer and Clifton-Brown (Big Bouffant) make a great team. The writing is warmhearted but sharply observed, while the winsome artwork-which features a cast of roundheaded, eager-eyed children-it's tightly focused and smartly composed. Much like the TV show Modern Family, this story seems as light as a soufflé, but actually offers plenty of food for thought. Ages 5-8. Illustrator's agent: Jodie Hodges, United Agents. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Stella is anxious about her class's upcoming Mother's Day celebration: she has two dads but no mom to bring. The love-makes-a-family message is received gladly, but the story's scaffolding shows (e.g., it's implausible that Stella's classmates at her socially progressive school wouldn't know until May that she has two dads). The watercolors are sensitive and inviting, befitting the subject matter. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
At school, everyone is excited about the upcoming Mother's Day celebration except for Stella. She is not sure what she will do since she has two dads and no mom. Stella is easy to spot on the page with her curly red hair but also because she looks so worried. She is not sure what she is going to do for the party. When her classmates ask her what is the matter and she tells them she has no mom to bring, they begin asking more questions. "Who packs your lunch like my mom does for me?" "Who reads you bedtime stories like my mothers do for me?" "Who kisses you when you are hurt?" Stella has Daddy and Papa and other relatives who do all of those things. As the students decorate and craft invitations, "Stella worked harder than everyone." The day of the event arrives, and Stella shows up with her fathers, uncle, aunt, cousin, and Nonna. And it all turns out well. One student brings his two moms, and another child invites his grandmother since his mother is away. Debut picture-book author Schiffer creates a story featuring diverse modern families that children will recognize from their own direct experiences or from their classrooms or communities. She keeps the text closely focused on Stella's feelings, and Clifton-Brown chooses finely detailed watercolors to illustrate Stella's initial troubles and eventual happiness. Essential. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Every other child in Stella's class knows who to invite to the Mother's Day party, but all week long, Stella worries. When the other kids learn that she has no mother to bring, they ask who packs her lunch (Daddy), who reads her bedtime stories (Daddy and Papa), and who kisses her when she is hurt (Papa or Daddy or Nonna or Aunt Gloria or Uncle Bruno or Cousin Lucy). In the end, Stella invites them all, but she promises her teacher that on Father's Day she will bring just her two dads. Written with simplicity and emotional clarity, the text and dialogue read aloud well. The crisp, clean artwork, a mixed-media collage featuring gouache and crayonlike elements, creates a cheerful, supportive atmosphere in Stella's home and her multicultural classroom. One inviting spread shows the children's art projects: hand-drawn group portraits of their families. Children will enjoy watching Stella solve her own dilemma in a logical yet creative way. With its validation of nontraditional families, this picture book offers a welcome change of pace for Mother's Day reading.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2015 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
"One" can mean any number of numbers, as in one bunch of bananas (five) or one box of crayons (eight) - and, in this nimble counting book, one clan of any size. Gómez's adorable digital illustrations of friendly, bobble-headed people in moments of homey togetherness include multiracial families and two men holding hands. It's a clever way to show the variety between and within families, and Shannon concludes with an apt reminder: We're all part of "one earth. One world. One family." FAMILIES, FAMILIES, FAMILIES! By Suzanne Lang. Illustrated by Max Lang. 32 pp. Random House. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6.) This book assembles and celebrates just about every possible permutation of adults and the children they're raising, using colorful, goofily drawn animals as proxies. Each page is framed like a portrait: Some children "have two dads. Some have one mom." Some are adopted, or live with cousins or stepsisters and -brothers. There are parents who are married and not. "If you love each other, then you are a family," the final pages say. By then the case has been made with wit and verve. HEATHER HAS TWO MOMMIES By Lesléa Newman. Illustrated by Laura Cornell. 29 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) 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, until a boy asks Heather what her father does. She wonders if she's the only one with no dad. But the teacher has all the kids draw their families, and - news flash! - it turns out none are exactly alike. STELLA BRINGS THE FAMILY By Miriam B. Schiffer. Illustrated by Molly Clifton-Brown. 36 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) Meet Stella, a delightful red-haired preschooler who's the Heather of the two-dad set. Recalling the predicament of her once embattled predecessor, she's flummoxed when her class is told to invite a "special guest" for Mother's Day. "Everyone else had a mother," she worries. "Howie had two!" (The times, they are a-changing.) If it's odd that the teacher didn't foresee her discomfort, Stella's solution - to bring every single member of her extended family - makes for a raucous happy ending. MY FAMILY TREE AND ME Written and illustrated by Dusan Petricic. 24 pp. Kids Can Press. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8.) A picture book that invites you to read front to back or vice versa is the perfect format for Petricic's beguiling look at his globe-spanning family tree. No nationalities are specified, but his father's kin have an Old World aura, while his mother's ancestors seem Chinese. All are drawn with live-wire lines and witty, humanizing details - charmingly toothy smiles or protruding ears. Both sides lead to the showstopping centerpiece: the extended clan in a group portrait, with a neighbor kid photo-bombing. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.
