Two Moms, the Zark, and Me

by Johnny Valentine

A boy loses his two moms when he makes friends with the zark at the zoo, and when he asks the McFinks for help, they disapprove of his family and make other plans for him.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555832369
• ISBN13: 9781555832360
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.9" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

The fear is important

The world for a child with two moms ain't always pretty. This book was a chance for me to show my son that there are bad folk out there that his school isn't about to warn him about. NO book read to a child shouldn't be talked about, and this is no exception. The evil McFinks are displayed with every ounce of hatred oozing from their pores...Children of Lesbian couples usually know that the hatred isn't always visable. On a personal note, my son thought the Lorax (one of his faves) was "WAY Scarier" than this one.

Children's Book Explores Family Diversity

TWO MOMS, THE ZARK AND ME is about the adventures of a young boy who goes to the park with his two moms, meets up with a tame Zark, plays with this extinct animal for a while only to realize that he does not know where his moms are. He begins to ask people around the park for help. The McFinks think he doesn't have a family because he does not have "...a mom, a dad, two kids and two cars. And a house, and a yard, and a dog (or a cat)." Fortunately for him, he is able to escape (with the help of the Zark) and finds himself with MJ and Don. He is disbelieving of their generosity and willingness to help him find his moms until they describe their own family structure; a heterosexual couple with kids of their own who adopted several other children from different cultural backgrounds. They also explain that "real families come in all forms and all sizes." They all search through the park and finally locate the moms near the Lost and Found. There is a lot going on in this book that I wonder if children under the age of ten are able to take it all in. A story of a young child getting lost perhaps should not include anything other than the way in which he is safely returned to his parents, whether he has two moms, two dads or lives with grandparents. Several of the illustrations do not add to the sense of safety one would hope a lost child encounters. For example, when he reaches the McFinks, Mr. McFink is holding a potato in one hand and in the other hand he has a very noticeable sharp knife and Mrs. McFink holds a sharp nail file (which also looks like a knife). The illustrations border on cartoon like characters and at times their facial expressions are rather frightening. To an adult it is clear that one message which the illustrations portrait is that there are some heterosexuals who are unsafe and perhaps unfit parents. After the young boy has met MJ and Don the illustrations are much more pleasant and comforting. In my opinion, the story would have been more successful if he had not met the McFinks.