This book, published in 2009, has two morals:1) Same-sex couples can be loving and fun-loving2) Opponents of same-sex couples are fearful, cold-hearted bigotsIt was published in 2009. In 2014, that message is almost preachy. It represents the liberal conventional wisdom. In fact, considering all of gay marriage's recent court victories, it almost represents the conventional wisdom period! The opponents of gay marriage are losing badly.The message was so overly simplistic that I was reminded of this Bella Abzug quote: "Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel."In this context, that means I think that gay marriage has moved beyond the need for Polacco's propaganda and hopefully same-sex couples can be portrayed as screwed up and as human as the rest of us! I don't think we're there quite yet, but I'm there and that's what I like to read (Thank goodness for Alison Bechdel!). Meema and Marmee are saints, I would've preferred that they were people.It reminds me of when I was a kid, I loved "Married with Children," I vastly preferred it to shows like "Father Knows Best" because it seemed a lot more real to me: families fight, they're made up of individuals, work is a drag. Little did I know! But the Bundys loved each other. There are no bad days in Meema and Marmee's house. When I read a book like that, I think "Give me a break."That degree of nuance might be too much to ask from a children's book, but Polacco's brilliant "Junkyard Wonders" encouraged my optimism. "Our Mothers' House" wasn't in the same class. Marmee, Meema, and the kids are just like any other family on the block. In their beautiful house, they cook dinner together, they laugh together, and they dance together. But some of the other families don?t accept them. They say they are different. How can a family have two moms and no dad? But Marmee and Meema?s house is full of love. And they teach their children that different doesn?t mean wrong. And no matter how many moms or dads they have, they are everything a family is meant to be. Here is a true Polacco story of a family, living by their own rules, and the strength they gain by the love they feel.
What do You think about In Our Mothers' House (2009)?
This book brought tears to my eyes; it was such a touching, beautiful story of family. I loved it!
—Cyridis
Sweet children's book about a family with two mothers and children of assorted heritages.
—nignig42
