Inclusive Families

Children’s Books With Two Moms or Two Dads

By Dao, Founder · LinkedIn ↗

The short version

A two-mom or two-dad family is one of the ordinary shapes of family — the AAP notes that fully half of all families no longer fit the old “nuclear” definition.
Kids with two moms or two dads thrive — the research consistently finds they do as well as their peers; what predicts how a child turns out is the warmth of the parent-child relationship, not the family’s shape.
Books are mirrors. When a child spots a family like theirs on the page, they get a piece of belonging they keep: “you’re not the only one.”
The 7 books below are all real and in-print (ISBNs included), sorted youngest to oldest — and the capstone puts your own family right into the story.

Yes — there are lovely, real children’s books with two moms or two dads, and we’ve gathered seven of the best below (with ISBNs), sorted by age from board books for babies to read-alouds for kids who are starting to get questions at school. Just as importantly: a book with two moms or two dads isn’t fixing anything. Your family is one of the ordinary shapes love takes, and these stories simply reflect a good thing back to your kid — the quiet message that they belong, and they’re not the only one.

Your family is one of the ordinary shapes love takes

Here’s the truth straight from the American Academy of Pediatrics: today, “fully half of all families do not meet the definition of nuclear family.” Their own list names families “headed by two unmarried partners, either of the opposite sex or the same sex,” right alongside stepfamilies, single parents, adoptive and foster families, and grandparents raising grandkids. So two moms, two dads — not an exception to family. One of its everyday, ordinary shapes.^[2]

The kids are all right — and the research agrees

You already know your kid is thriving. It’s still nice to have the science on your side: reviewing the research, the American Psychological Association reports that “children with gay or lesbian parents do as well as children with heterosexual parents,” and that what actually predicts a child’s adjustment isn’t the parents’ orientation at all — it’s the quality of the parent-child relationship. Which means a book with two moms or two dads isn’t compensating for anything or explaining anything away. It’s reflecting a good thing back to your child.^[5]

Why it matters to see your family on the page

There’s a reason a simple picture book can land so hard. The scholar Rudine Sims Bishop gave us the language for it: children need “books in which children can find themselves, see reflections of themselves” — mirrors, not only windows onto other lives. When your child turns a page and spots a family with two moms or two dads, the message travels straight in: you belong here. You’re not the only one. That’s not a small thing to hand a kid — it’s a piece of belonging they get to keep.^[1]

For the day someone at school asks

At some point your child may come home having fielded a “why do you have two moms?” or “two dads?” — usually pure kid curiosity, but it can still catch a little one off guard. Books help here, and not by arming your child for a debate. As HRC’s Welcoming Schools puts it, sharing a range of family stories helps a child “develop pride in their own family at the same time you expose them to the diversity of the world around them,” and lets every kid feel “the common theme that runs through all families: love.” Read enough of these together and the playground question stops being a curveball. It becomes a chance to say, proudly, this is my family.^[4]

Why the mirror hits hardest when the family on the page is yours

Somewhere around preschool, most kids in a two-mom or two-dad family meet the same moment: a classmate tilts their head and asks, “why do you have two moms?” — or your child scans the picture-book shelf and never finds a family shaped like theirs. A personalized book lets your child live the happy version of that moment first. When they’re the named, illustrated hero of a story where their two moms (or two dads) are simply, joyfully the family — packing the lunchbox, cheering at the game, tucking in at night — they’ve already felt what it’s like for their own family to be the whole, celebrated point of a book. So when the real question comes at school, the pride isn’t new. It’s familiar. It’s been rehearsed.^[3]

That’s the difference between a lovely book and this one. On the list above, your child watches Heather, or Stella, or Donovan have two moms or two dads — a warm, worth-having thing, but it’s still another kid’s family on the page. In a personalized book, the name is theirs, the face is theirs, the two moms or two dads are yours. “That family belongs” quietly becomes “my family belongs — and so do I.” The mirror stops being about a character who’s a little like them and becomes, unmistakably, them.^[1]

And the reassurance lands twice. Once from a hero who is unmistakably your child — and once from you, the very parent (or parents) they might someday have to explain, right there on your lap, reading it aloud. The research is blunt about what matters most for a kid in any kind of family: not its shape, but the warmth of the relationship inside it. A personalized story is one warm, unhurried way into that — the book is the doorway, and you’re what’s on the other side. That shared moment is the magic; the book is just the loveliest way in.^[5]

7 children’s books with two moms or two dads, by age

Every title here is a real, in-print picture book — we’ve included the ISBN so you can find the exact edition. They’re ordered youngest to oldest, from chunky board books for the smallest hands up to story-rich read-alouds for kids who are starting to notice and ask. (The AAP and Reach Out and Read keep their own diverse-books list spanning infants through preschool, for the same reason: there’s a right book for every age.)

My Two Moms and Me by Michael Joosten (illustrated by Izak Zenou) (ages 0–3) — A chunky, cheerful board book that follows two moms and their little one through an ordinary, loving day — breakfast, a playdate, a swim, and a bedtime lullaby. Just right for the smallest hands to spot their own family in the rhythm of the pages.
My Two Dads and Me by Michael Joosten (illustrated by Izak Zenou) (ages 0–3) — The two-dad companion board book — the same bright, busy day and the same snuggly bedtime. A sturdy first book that lets babies and toddlers meet a family that looks like theirs.
Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman (illustrated by Laura Cornell) (ages 3–7) — Heather’s favorite number is two — two arms, two legs, and two moms. When she notices not every kid has the same family, a gentle teacher reminds the class that every family is special and there’s no one right way to be one. The picture book that opened the conversation, warmly refreshed for today’s readers.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell (illustrated by Henry Cole) (ages 3–8) — The gentle true story of Roy and Silo, two penguins at the Central Park Zoo who become dads to a chick named Tango. Quietly beloved, softly told, and an easy first read for the littlest listeners.
Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer (illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown) (ages 4–8) — Stella has Daddy and Papa, and her class is throwing a Mother’s Day party — so who does she bring? A tender, reassuring story about the people who love you being exactly enough, and a gentle way in when a child hits a “but I don’t have a…” moment at school.
Donovan’s Big Day by Lesléa Newman (illustrated by Mike Dutton) (ages 4–8) — Donovan has the most important job at his two moms’ wedding — he’s the ring bearer, and he cannot mess it up. A joyful, giggly countdown to a big family celebration, told entirely from a kid’s-eye view.
Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty (illustrated by David Roberts) (ages 4–8) — A family with two dads races to tidy the house before Grandma arrives — until the cat scrambles the chore-list magnets on the fridge and hilarious chaos takes over. Pure read-aloud joy, starring a family that just happens to have two dads.

Any one of these is a lovely gift and a warm bedtime. Together they do something quietly powerful: they fill your child’s shelf with families that look like yours. There’s one more step you can take that no roundup can — and it’s the capstone below.

The mirror, made real — with your family on the cover

Remi, a four-year-old girl with two moms, kneels at a bookshelf turning the pages of a picture book, quietly searching for a family like hers.

Remi, a four-year-old girl, laughs as her two moms swing her up by both hands on a sunny autumn walk through the park.

How does it end?Make your own to find out →

A sample PlotJoys story starring Remi: she goes looking for a family like hers on the bookshelf, spends a golden family day swinging between both her moms, and drifts off at bedtime piled in with her whole family. No why two moms? anywhere in it — just her family, exactly as it is, as the joyful whole point of a book with her name on the spine. Your book stars your own child — their name, their face, your family — as the hero.

Make this story for your own child →

Quick answers

What are the best children’s books with two moms or two dads?

For the littlest listeners, the board books “My Two Moms and Me” and “My Two Dads and Me.” For preschool and up: “Heather Has Two Mommies,” “And Tango Makes Three,” “Stella Brings the Family,” “Donovan’s Big Day,” and “Bathe the Cat.” All are real, in-print picture books — the full list with ISBNs and ages is above.

At what age should I start reading these to my child?

From birth. Sturdy board books like “My Two Moms and Me” are made for the smallest hands, and the story-driven picture books land best from about age 3 or 4 — right around when kids start noticing and asking about families.

How do I answer “why do I have two moms?” or “two dads?”

Keep it simple and proud: families come in lots of shapes, and ours has two moms (or two dads) who love you. Books help — reading a few of these together gives your child the words, and the pride, before the question ever comes up at school.

Are these books appropriate for toddlers?

Yes. A book that shows a two-mom or two-dad family going through an ordinary, loving day is exactly as appropriate as any other board book — it’s breakfast, a playdate, and a bedtime lullaby, with a family that looks like yours.

Can I get a book with our actual family in it?

Yes — that’s what a personalized PlotJoys book does. You build your family exactly as it is (two moms or two dads, every sibling, grandparent, and pet), and your child becomes the named, illustrated hero of the story. See the example above.

Who’s behind this

I’m Dao — a mom, and the founder of PlotJoys. I make personalized storybooks where a child is the hero of their own story, because every kid, in every kind of family, deserves to open a book and find themselves inside it. If you’d like your child to be the hero of a story that stars your family, exactly as it is, I’d love to help you make it. — Dao

Read my full story →

Make your child’s book