Sarah & Ian Hoffman

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The Winners (and Some Random Side Notes)

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As promised, two of my readers will receive autographed copies of both Mommy, Mama, and Me, and Daddy, Papa, and Me—courtesy of author Leslea Newman—to expand the worldview of the toddlers and preschoolers in their lives.

And the winners are…… Carolyn Finken-Dove and  Jacinta Bunnell! You’ll see how serendipitous it is that Jacinta won, later in this post.

(Carolyn and Jacinta, please email me at sarah_hoffman@yahoo.com with your addresses so I can send you the books.)

Whether or not you are not a winner this time, I want you to do three things:

  1. Buy Leslea’s books and/or ask your local library to stock them.
  2. Try again next time I do a giveaway.
  3. Read on for some random stuff you may find interesting.

The first thing is not so random at all. And it’s really good. And it’s really two things. The first: Leslea has a new book coming out in April, Donovan’s Big Day, about a little boy whose moms are getting married. Ask your local bookstore to stock it, or pre-order your copy from Amazon.

The second good thing: Reach and Teach, publishers of Jacinta Bunnel’s awesome coloring book Sometimes The Spoon Runs Away with Another Spoon (see? serendipity!), will soon release their book about same-sex marriage, Operation Marriage by Cynthia Chin-Lee.The book won’t be out until next fall, but you can support its production with your pre-order now!

And finally, the long-awaited random side note: Ever wonder how I choose my winners? Wildly funny and crazily wise momblogger Stark. Raving. Mad. Mommy introduced me to RANDOM.ORG, a cool website operated by the computer science school at Trinity College, Dublin that has generated nearly a trillion random numbers for people who need them.  They say:

RANDOM.ORG offers true random numbers to anyone on the Internet. The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs. People use RANDOM.ORG for holding drawings, lotteries and sweepstakes, to drive games and gambling sites, for scientific applications and for art and music.

Kinda cool, right?

Happy reading!

Book Review & Giveaway: “Mommy, Mama, and Me” and “Daddy, Papa, and Me”

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Please note: while comments on this post continue to be welcome, the giveaway is now over.

Leslea Newman published Heather Has Two Mommies in 1989, at a time when there were hardly any books showing family diversity. The book raised hackles and inspired attacks on Leslea by social conservatives and the religious right; Heather has been on the banned book list every year since its publication.

Heather sent the message to kids who were different (because they had two moms, step parents, adopted siblings, or a single parent) that their lives were just as normal as kids in traditional families. “The most important thing about a family,” Leslea told us in Heather, “is that all the people in it love each other.”

Leslea has never stopped writing (she has written 60 books to date), and her latest books, Mommy, Mama, and Me and Daddy, Papa, and Me, are a testament to her commitment to helping kids in gay and lesbian families feel just like regular kids. These sweet, simple board books depict a day-in-the-life of a well-loved child, a child like any other, who loves juice and snuggles and playtime and getting tucked in at night by their loving parents.

Through these books, kids with two moms or two dads can see their lives reflected. Kids who are different in any number of ways can see that their differences are not only okay, but something to be celebrated. These books aren’t only for two-mom or two-dad families. They are for all of us, so that we can see—and teach our children to see—that there are lots of ways to be a family. And that means that these books belong in your preschool, in the collection of books you give at baby showers, in your neighborhood library, in your doctor’s office waiting room. Because everyone should be reading these books.

Leslea has generously offered two sets of each book to two of my readers. That means if you win this giveaway, you’ll get both books for your own enjoyment, your preschool, your local library, or your friends or family. Not only that, but they’re autographed by Leslea, which only increases the awesomeness. Please comment below for a chance to win a set of these adorable books (and either leave your email address or friend me on facebook so I can find you if you win).

 

Queen Esther, Again

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I posted this blog last year at Purim time, and I find it’s just as true this year as it was last.

Happy Purim to all of you! May we remember Queen Esther, and her bravery as she stood up for her authentic self and her people.

It’s Purim, the Jewish holiday I love for its signature cookie, Hamentashen, for its dress-up potential, and for its wonderful tale of social justice and feminine strength. I’m also loving thisessay by Anat Shenker about the holiday, and her three-year-old son’s desire to dress up as Queen Esther. My son Sam dressed as Queen Esther in kindergarten, and, fortunately for Sam—and thanks to gender education in the classroom—his costume went over splendidly.

This year, Sam dressed as Anakin Skywalker from the third Star Wars movie, Revenge of the Sith (for those of you who have been reading Sam’s story, how’s that for gender-bending?). My husband and I went to Sam’s school yesterday for the annual Purim talent show. Near the school entrance, we bumped into the head of school. He was dressed as a woman. With his shaggy brown wig and beige gauze skirt, he looked more like a hippy cavewoman than the fabulous transwomen I see walking around San Francisco every day. But still, the sight of the head of school in women’s clothes made my day.

I’ve been trying to get the school to do a training for the entire school community–teachers, students, and parents–for the nearly three years that Sam has been there. We’ve found both a loving attitude toward Sam as an individual and an administrative reluctance to bring his gender nonconformity to the attention of the broader community. At times, particularly when he gets harassed in the bathroom by kids who don’t know any better (and should not be expected to know any better, until the adults in their lives commit to teaching them), this makes me furious. But yesterday, with the school’s Purim celebration in full swing and the head of school dressed as a woman, I thought: this school is modeling the message I want heard, in a language everyone can understand. It’s no replacement for gender training, but it’s a wonderful message just the same: Dare to be different. Gender lines aren’t fixed. Be yourself, and you just might end up a leader.