Miriam B. Schiffer

At school, everyone is excited about the upcoming Mother’s Day celebration except for Stella. She is not sure what she will do since she has two dads and no mom.

Stella is easy to spot on the page with her curly red hair but also because she looks so worried. She is not sure what she is going to do for the party. When her classmates ask her what is the matter and she tells them she has no mom to bring, they begin asking more questions. “Who packs your lunch like my mom does for me?” show more “Who reads you bedtime stories like my mothers do for me?” “Who kisses you when you are hurt?” Stella has Daddy and Papa and other relatives who do all of those things. As the students decorate and craft invitations, “Stella worked harder than everyone.” The day of the event arrives, and Stella shows up with her fathers, uncle, aunt, cousin, and Nonna. And it all turns out well. One student brings his two moms, and another child invites his grandmother since his mother is away. Debut picture-book author Schiffer creates a story featuring diverse modern families that children will recognize from their own direct experiences or from their classrooms or communities. She keeps the text closely focused on Stella’s feelings, and Clifton-Brown chooses finely detailed watercolors to illustrate Stella’s initial troubles and eventual happiness.

Essential. (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

Stella is worried about what she will do when her teacher says they will be having a Mother's Day party. She has two dad's, but no mother to bring as a guest. She shares her worries to all of her friends, and one of them suggests that Stella should just bring all of her loved ones with her to the party! Stella has a great time at the party with Daddy, Papa, Nonna, Uncle Bruno, Aunt Gloria, and Cousin Lucy. I thought it was a really great touch at the end of the book when the other child with show more two mothers has a worried look on his face, holding a Father's Day card. I also loved the illustrations in the book; they were very fun drawings and showed the expressions on Stella's face well. I love that this book is written for such young kids because it's important for them to be familiarized with same-sex parents through books and other media. show less

At school, everyone is excited about the upcoming Mother’s Day celebration except for Stella. She is not sure what she will do since she has two dads and no mom.

Stella is easy to spot on the page with her curly red hair but also because she looks so worried. She is not sure what she is going to do for the party. When her classmates ask her what is the matter and she tells them she has no mom to bring, they begin asking more questions. “Who packs your lunch like my mom does for me?” show more “Who reads you bedtime stories like my mothers do for me?” “Who kisses you when you are hurt?” Stella has Daddy and Papa and other relatives who do all of those things. As the students decorate and craft invitations, “Stella worked harder than everyone.” The day of the event arrives, and Stella shows up with her fathers, uncle, aunt, cousin, and Nonna. And it all turns out well. One student brings his two moms, and another child invites his grandmother since his mother is away. Debut picture-book author Schiffer creates a story featuring diverse modern families that children will recognize from their own direct experiences or from their classrooms or communities. She keeps the text closely focused on Stella’s feelings, and Clifton-Brown chooses finely detailed watercolors to illustrate Stella’s initial troubles and eventual happiness.

Essential. (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review show less

When Mrs. Abbott announces that the class will be having a party for Mother's Day and the students can bring their mothers, Stella became very worried. Stella had two dads, so she had no mother to bring to mother's day. All week Stella was worried. Finally, her friends asked Stella what was wrong and when she told them that she had no mother to bring to the Mother's Day party. The kids didn't understand. They asked Stella questions like who packs her lunch and who reads her bedtime stories. show more Stella answered that her Daddy and Papa do that. Then when they asked her who kisses her when she's hurt, Stella answered Papa, Daddy, Nonna, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Bruno, or Cousin Lucy. One of Stella's friends then suggested that Stella brings them all to the Mother's Day party. When the children started to make their invitations, Stella worked harder than everyone else. When the big day finally came, the party went much better than Stella expected. At the end of the day, Mrs. Abbott was worn out and Stella told her not to worry because she won't bring as big of a crowd for Father's Day; just two.

In this story, Stella is considered a static character because she doesn't undergo any changes. In this story, we also get to know Stella by her speech of expressing her worries of Mother's Day. We also get to know Stella through appearance, thanks to the great illustrations in this book.

I think this was a very short and sweet book that brings awareness to non-traditional families. As a future elementary teacher, this book made me think about how students may feel during Mother's Day or Grandparent's Day celebrations because, in today's world, not every student has a traditional family. I love that Mrs. Abbott allowed Stella to bring her whole family. A lot of teachers now set limits to how many people students can bring, but I adored that Mrs. Abbott made an exception for Stella's non-traditional family. show less