Do you need a “belly mommy” to make a family? We read Papa, Daddy & Riley and… spoiler alert: no you do not.
This post includes affiliate links, and I may earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase (thanks!). As always, check your local library first. Also fair warning that I use a potty word below!
Papa, Daddy & Riley is a gem of a picture book by Seamus Kirst and illustrated by Devon Holzwarth. Grab a tissue for this one.
Riley’s Daddy and Papa drop her off at school, where there are lots of kinds of families. Traditional, single mom, foster families, grandparent as primary caregivers, it’s lovely (and, hi, normal). When one of the girls asks about who Riley’s real dad is, though, Riley feels confused. And sad and probably hurt and all kinds of feelings! Riley knows about her “belly mommy” but she also looks like and acts like her Papa and her Daddy. When she gets home and the tears come… oof, it gets you right in the heart.
Luckily Riley’s parents help her understand that family is about love and it does not matter if there are two dads or two moms or whatever. Does. Not. Matter. As it says on the back of the book, love makes a family.
One more time for the folks in the back: family is about love. Not the gender/orientation/race/age/ability of the grownups. Or the kids!
Papa, Daddy & Riley is available on Amazon and Bookshop.
We loved this book. Thank you Seamus Kirst, Devon Holzwarth and Magination Press for bringing this story to life.
Grownups will love Kirst’s raw and uplifting Shitfaced: Musings of a Former Drunk. If you have young kids, you’ll love all the books Devon Holzwarth has illustrated (Found You is so beautiful). And parents will love all things Magination Press, which is actually a publication arm of the American Psychological Association and has books about loads of important issues. Books your kids will want to read! You might recognize Something Happened in Our Town (A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice) or This Day In June, and there are so many others that are surprisingly great.
Looking for more? Take a look at our last read, Dinosaur Vs The Library. Or you might want to check off some of the 100 Childrens’ Books To Read In 2021!