A curly-haired toddler-passable as either a boy or girl-celebrates "mommy" and "mama," and the activities and tender moments they share. During a playground trip, "Mommy and I go round and round," on a playground wheel that resembles a giant birthday cake; on the opposite page, "Mama and I slide to the ground." The bright colors (a green claw-foot tub has froglike feet) and pleasing verse offer a simple lesson about love that same-sex parents should embrace. Newman (Heather Has Two Mommies) and Thompson's (Molly and Her Dad) Daddy, Papa, and Me is also available. Ages 1-3. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(Preschool) Two inviting board books from the author of the groundbreaking Heather Has Two Mommies present warm, matter-of-fact depictions of same-sex parents doting on their child. In Daddy, the child (of indeterminate gender in both books) asks, "Who wants to play with me today?" Daddy and Papa proceed to entertain their tot ("Daddy helps me paint the sky. Papa helps me bake a pie"), who's just mobile enough to leave them completely exhausted by the end of the day ("'Does anybody need a rest?' Daddy and Papa say, 'Yes, yes, yes!'"). Mommy also takes its family through a day of exuberant fun but lacks a narrative direction; also missing are Daddy's casual affirmations that gender stereotypes aren't immutable ("Daddy shows me how to sew"). In both titles, bright, smudgy pen and watercolor illustrations feature smiling parents and high-spirited child; and the rhyming couplets are predictable but jaunty. Newman uses the (by now overly familiar) mommy/daddy-loves-you formula to offer children of same-sex couples a glimpse of their own reality in print, and she does it with none of the didacticism usually associated with such a message. Instead, the child remains the sole voice and focus-which is just as it should be. [review covers these titles: Daddy, Papa, and Me and Mommy, Mama, and Me]From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PreS-These board books show same-sex parents engaged in daily activities with their children. In Daddy, the men play with their toddler-dress-up, paper-airplane flying, strumming and drumming instruments, and having a tea party. Mommy and Mama spend the day at the park-going down the slide, riding the merry-go-round, playing hide-and-seek. The soft, realistic illustrations expand the simple texts.-Linda Staskus, Parma Regional Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.