Review: IN OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE by Patricia Polacco

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Polacco, Patricia. 2009. In Our Mothers’ House. New York: Penguin Group Inc. ISBN ISBN-13: 9780399250767

 2. PLOT SUMMARY

In Our Mothers’ House, is narrated the eldest adopted daughter of this nontraditional family. The family is different because there are two mothers; Marmee, and Meema who have created a household which is full of love and laughter. The narrator tells how each of the siblings was added to the family, from a variety of geographic locations and ethnicities. The family lives in a large house with a staircase, a spacious kitchen where Meema cooked, and a large brick fireplace which was “the heart of their home.” Together with a large group of extended relatives they had noisy holiday celebrations which always began in the kitchen with the cooking. The family was raised in a friendly, supportive neighborhood where they worked together to build a backyard tree house, held block parties, tea parties, and went trick-or-treating in homemade costumes. Although there was one family who “just plain didn’t like us”, the narrator says that they “always tried to be respectful and friendly, the way our mothers taught us to be.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Patricia Polacco has featured an untraditional in this lively picture book. Not only does this family have two mothers instead of a mother and father, the children are all adopted.  Cultural markers in this book would be the fact that instead of being a family with a mother and father, this family has two mothers. Instead of focusing on the differences of this lifestyle, however, Polacco has chosen to focus on the ways in which the family created by the two females is similar to traditional families: it is full of love; they all have different personalities, they get sick, go to school, and celebrate holidays with extended family members.

The colorful pencil and marker drawings by Polacco depict the features, while the text tells us the narrator’s memories of how each child was added to the family. It is obvious that the children come from different ethnicities: the eldest child is black, one sibling is Asian, and the other is a red-headed Caucasian. The skin tone of the characters is varied according to their ethnicity, and accurate according to the race being depicted. The colors and drawings created by Polacco add to the energy and liveliness of the text. There are brighter tones used in the illustrations when the children are young and there is a lot of activity in the house, and darker tones as mothers get older and the story draws to a close. For example the statement “We watched our mothers grow old together in that house” is set against a dark background and picture of the aged parents.

Although the representation of the mothers is sometimes stereotypical, “We had never seen either of them in a dress…ever!,” it also portrays them as individuals, “Our mothers were so different from each other that all of us often wondered how they found each other at all.” This story will help students with same-gender parents feel more accepted, and help children from traditional families better understand those who are not traditional.

 4. REVIEW EXCERPTS

CHILDRENS LITERATURE REVIEW: “The family ‘in our mothers' house’ is like many others, filled with love and fun, clearly seen in the smiling characters on the jacket. It is unusual only in that there are two mothers. The narrator is the eldest of three adopted children. She tells the story of her adoption and that of her brother Will and sister, Millie. The children play, sing, and dance together, catch the flu, and celebrate holidays with the extended family.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW:” Eventually, the children grow up, marry heterosexual spouses, and return home to visit their aged parents with their own children. Is this an idealized vision of a how a gay couple can be accepted by their family and community? Absolutely. But the story serves as a model of inclusiveness for children who have same-sex parents, as well as for children who may have questions about a "different" family in their neighborhood. A lovely book that can help youngsters better understand their world.”

5. CONNECTIONS

Other picture books about families by Patricia Polacco:

Polacco, Patricia. Christmas Tapestry. ISBN-10: 0142411655

Polacco, Patricia. The Keeping Quilt. ISBN-10: 0153052120
Polacco, Patricia. The Blessing Cup. ISBN-10: 1442450479

Other picture books about family diversity:

Adoff, Arnold. Black is Brown is Tan. Ill. by Emily Arnold McCully. ISBN-10: 0064436446

Polacco, Patricia. Chicken Sunday. ISBN-10: 0698116151
Richardson, Justin. And Tango Makes Three. ISBN-10: 0689878451