Grown-Ups
Book Review: Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming by Monica Bey-Clarke and Cheril N. Clarke
In telling the simple story of a family's day at the pool, authors Monica Bey-Clarke and Cheril N. Clarke manage to emphasize the normalcy of everyday life in LGBT families. It's clear that to Keesha, nothing could be more fun, or normal, than a day at the pool with her two moms.
At the pool one summer's day, Keesha happily plays with her friend Trevor and his two dads until she notices a boy sitting all alone. Keesha sees that the boy is sad because he doesn't have any toys and no one will play with him, so she invites him to play with them. The boy's mom and dad join the other parents at the side of the pool, watching the children play. When they get home, Keesha's moms cook her favorite dinner and give her an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert: "My two moms are proud of me for sharing and being nice to others."
The messages of inclusivity and kindness do not overwhelm the genuinely fun storyline. The book is cheerful through and through—and the bright pictures match Keesha's sunny attitude. With short words and sentences, this is a great book for beginning readers.
Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming, illustrated by Aiswarya Mukherjee, is available at www.MyFamilyProducts.net. The website promotes multicultural books for children with same gender parents. If you enjoy this book, check out the book review for The Lopez Family: Science Fair Day by the same authors.
Author
Assistant Kids section editor Hannah Crawford graduated from Carleton College with a major in English and a concentration in Latin American Studies. Apart from reading, her great love is theater, which is one of the many reasons she is very excited to have recently moved to Minneapolis.
