Hello!
I am trying to raise my children in a way that accepts all others without judgement. I believe it's important to show them that families come in many different shapes and sizes, as well as lifestyles, and they aren't bad, they're just different than ours. I want them to not just be "tolerant" of others, but accepting and nonjudgemental.
There are two books that I would like to find for my preschooler. One is about adoption, from the birth parents point of view. I can find a lot of books about parents who have adopted children, but none about parent who had to give them up. I want them to see that parents don't give up children because they don't love them.
The other topic I am trying to find are books about gay and lesbian parents. Most books about gay and lesbian parents are geared toward high school students. I don't want a book that expains what parents do in their bedroom (My daughter isn't ready for a book about straight families either), but something where she can see that other families may have two mommies or two daddies.
If you have seen any good books out there, that speak about it in an open and unjudgemental way, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
C.
I have been very impressed with the open-minds of the other Moms out there that don't judge based on someone's lifestyle, but recognize that loving families come in a wide variety. When I put a request for children's books about gay/lesbian families, I thought I would get a bunch of outraged Mom's who thought I was trying to teach my children things that were "inappropriate", but not one single response was negative. I applaud all of those mothers who have answere my request with dignity and support. May more people in this country live with such loving and accepting hearts as those who have answered my request. Thank you for giving me faith in my country again.
I applaud you for this. It is very important in teaching tolerance. I bought this book called Its so amazing! for my daughter when she was 9 or so. It is actually about how babies are made and it sticks to the facts and includes different types of families (adopted, gay/lesbian and blended families). You can get it on amazon.com.
Good luck!
I tried looking for some books online that could help but i didnt see much , but i do want to say that I am all for you teaching your kids to be non judgemental and to be accepting . its hard these days to teach kids how to treat others the same when there is so much confusion and negativity about certain issues. If you do find any good books please let me know because that is a wonderful idea.
I remember reading a review in the past couple years of at least one book on this subject, a children's book. I probably saw it on Barnes and Nobel's website. If you work with the search engine you can pull a long list to wade through of possible books.
I found this one today that might be what you are looking for: Molly's Family
by Nancy Garden, Sharon Wooding (Illustrator), Sharon Wooding (Illustrator)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.a...
this is another one:
Daddy's Roommate
by Michael Willhoite, Michael Willhoite (Illustrator)
(Paperback)
Publisher: Alyson Publications
Pub. Date: November 1991
ISBN-13: 9781555831189
Sales Rank: 66,202
32pp
This is one on foster parents
Zachary's New Home: A Story for Foster and Adopted Children
by Geraldine Molettiere Molettiere Blomquist, Paul B. Blomquist, Margo Lemieux (Illustrator), Margo Lemieux (Illustrator), Paul B. Blomquist
This one is an adoption one:
A Blessing from Above
by Patti Henderson, Golden Books Staff, Liz Edge (Illustrator), Elizabeth Edge (Illustrator)
This is a good thing to teach your kids!! I admire you. Here is a list of some titles I have found, that might be appropriate.
http://www.thereadingtub.com/search_adoption.asp
Hope it helps!
Hi, C.. The most-banned book last year was a children's book about a penguin family where two male penguins raised the baby penguin. I cannot recall the title of the book, but I'm sure any book seller could help you identify it, which would certainly be appropriate for small children.
Good luck with your search.
Hi C.!
I am also a teacher, although I teach a 4/5 combined class. I've really enjoyed the Todd Parr books--The Peace Book, The Feelings Book, Reading Makes You Feel Good, etc. The illustrations are bright and simple, and the text is straightforward and easy to understand. Check them out!
A.
"It's Ok To Be Different" by Todd Parr
Little Brown and Company, 2001
www.toddparr.com
I received this book at a teachers in service about gender differences, later that year the Wauwatosa Health department gave a copy to all of the day care centers in Wauwatosa. It is great for the preschool age child. It is just what you are looking for. M.
The Berenstain Bears have a good series of books about values in general like cleaning one's room, eating healthy food, not watching too much TV, etc. I know they're way before the times of gay/lesbians, but they teach good values. Also there's a good one about being adopted called How I was adopted : Samantha's story by Joanna Cole. Good luck!
one book you might like is Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers. It's not overtly about diversity, but the families are all different, and there are a couple same-sex couples in the illustrations. Plus, it's just a sweet book. My 4-year-old twins have been enjoying this book since they were 2, and it's still one of their favorites. (and mine)
Once There Were Giants by Martin Waddell is also a great book with an extended family.
There's a book called "Heather Has Two Mommies" by Leslea Newman that is geared for children 2-6 years old. It talks about all different types of families. "Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story" by Kaitlyn Taylor Considine received really good customer reviews on Amazon.com, too. I haven't read the second one personally, but it sounds like a really neat book!
If you type in either title on Amazon, it will give other recommended titles for that category as well. Good luck - I think its awesome that you're raising your children to be open and understanding.
We have a family member who is gay so we've tried to read books that introduce this topic in an easy way to my kids. We picked the ones we found at the Public Library but here's what I found at Amazon when I looked today.
Who's in a Family? by Robert Skutch
And Tango Makes Three by Pater Parnell (this was very cute, it's about two male penguins that foster an egg)
The Family Book by Todd Parr (he has quite a few good books for little kids on the diversity topic)
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story by Kaitlyn Taylor Considine
The Different Dragon by Jennifer Bryan (this one looks really good for boys, talking about a dragon with two moms)
I haven't seen any books about birth parents for young children, but I do know of two books about gay and lesbian parents. The first is called Heather has two mommies, and the other is called Daddy's roommate. I think they are very good.
First of all, I want to applaud you for raising your children to be open to all ways of life. I have a great many friends in the gay/lesbian community, so my children have never seen it as anything different, but with all the negativity aimed at certain lifestyles I feel it's important to show our children that we're all equal.
As for adoption, these first two are books I found online, and the third is one my parents gave to me when my adoption was finalized when I was little.
Ghost at Heart's Edge: Stories and Poems on Adoption
**This one isn't geared for young children, but it's a diverse collection of stories from both the biological and adopting parents**
Never Never Never Will She Stop Loving You
**A story that talks about how adopted children are cherished by both their adoptive and biological parents**
Why Was I Adopted, by Carole Livingston
**Kind of a questions and answers book about being adopted, geared towards kids and explaining that sometimes we don't stay with the parents we were born with**
Families by Kuklin, Susan
Presents brief interviews with children from fifteen diverse American families--including large, small, mixed-race, immigrant, gay and lesbian, divorced, single-parent, religious, adoptive, and special-needs families--about their parents, siblings, lifestyles, and traditions, and includes photos of each family.
This is a book that is geared towards your childs age. I am not sure if you have looked at this one yet. I hope this helps.
A.
Hi, C.. The world needs more parents like you who want to raise kids who are not just tolerant, but who don't look at people whose families aren't "traditional" as different at all--just families.
One good book I know about for the gay/lesbian aspect is called "Heather Has Two Mommies". If you look that one up at Amazon, they suggest others with similar topics that others have purchased or looked at.
For adoption books, I didn't look at all their selections, but it looks like this organization, PACT, has a great list of books that would include stories you're looking for. Here is their website, and they break down the books into appropriate age groups:
http://www.pactadopt.org/store/page1.html
Peace,
K.
All the ones below are great, but I'd like to throw my support to Harvey Fierstein's "The Sissy Duckling." Not only are the pictures great and the story's great but you can totally hear Harvey Fierstein and his gravelly voice reading it to your kids while they read it, which provides for much amusement!
