When Grown-Ups Fall in Love

Overview

When Grown-Ups Fall in Love is a preschool picture book by Barbara Lynn Edmonds, illustrated by Matthew Daniele and published by Hundredth Munchy Publications. Public records describe a poem that shows families with a mother and father, two mothers, and two fathers, with large illustrations suited to group storytime and child participation. The 2000 revised edition record lists 28 pages, while the local catalog identifies the Mechanics copy as numbered and signed by the author. In the collection, the book belongs to the practical shelf of small-press materials made for parents, teachers, and young children who needed simple language for family diversity before such books were common in mainstream publishing.^{[1][2][3][6][7]}

Many-Family Poem

The book's format is a short poem about adults falling in love and forming families. Public descriptions emphasize that the poem includes a man and woman, two women, and two men, all with children. That makes the book different from a story centered on one child with two parents of the same sex. Its structure is comparative and introductory. It gives very young children a repeated frame for recognizing several adult couple forms without placing one family type as the default and the others as exceptions.^[3][9][10]

Preschool And Classroom Use

Public records describe the book as suitable for young children, with large colorful illustrations, group storytime use, coloring pages, and space for children to make family stories. Those features make it a teaching object as much as a picture book. The collection can place it beside alphabet books, counting books, and family surveys because it uses simple classroom forms to make family diversity visible. Its purpose is not literary complexity; it is usable, repeatable language.^[3][6][9]

Limited Signed Copy

The local catalog identifies the Mechanics copy as a numbered and signed revised edition. AbeBooks listings also preserve evidence that signed limited copies circulated. This kind of copy note matters for a special collection because it records more than content. It suggests a small print run, direct author involvement, and the kind of community circulation often associated with early LGBTQ-family publishing. The object therefore carries both a pedagogical purpose and a material history.^[1][3]

Small-Press Context

Hundredth Munchy Publications appears in public ISBN directories with a small number of related titles, including this book and Mama Eat Ant, Yuck!. That narrow publishing trail is useful rather than incidental. It shows a small imprint making child-facing resources where mainstream availability was limited. Read beside Two Lives, Alyson Wonderland, and other small presses in the collection, When Grown-Ups Fall in Love helps map the practical publishing ecology behind LGBTQ-family representation for young children.^[4][7][2]

Timeline

1. 1997Earlier edition trailISBN-directory records point to an earlier 1997 edition under the same publisher prefix.^[4]
2. 2000Revised editionOpen Library and bookseller records identify the 2000 revised edition with ISBN 9780965670012.^[2][3]
3. 2000Limited signed circulationSeller records and the local catalog preserve evidence of signed limited copies.^[3][1]
4. 2010Family bibliographyA children's-books bibliography for LGBT-parent families listed the title among picture books featuring mothers and fathers in same-sex couples.^[7]
5. 2017Academic teaching contextA multicultural literature article discussed the title as a classroom resource for early primary readers.^[8]

Hundredth Munchy Trail

The book's material record connects revised edition, signed limitation, and a small publisher list.

Citation

When Grown-Ups Fall in Love. Barbara Lynn Edmonds; illustrated by Matthew Daniele. Hundredth Munchy Publications, 2000. Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection, Mechanics' Institute. Collection ID: KB-042.

Sources

Cover image from Open Library.

1. Local collection catalog record for When Grown-Ups Fall in Love · catalog
2. Open Library ISBN record for When Grown-Ups Fall in Love · library
3. AbeBooks record for When Grown-Ups Fall in Love · bookseller
4. Books by ISBN, Hundredth Munchy Publications prefix · bibliography
5. Goodreads author record for Barbara Lynn Edmonds · reader_catalog
6. ThriftBooks record for When Grown-Ups Fall in Love · bookseller
7. Children's books with LGBT parents bibliography · bibliography
8. Didactica de la literatura multicultural en lengua inglesa · scholarship
9. Child Care Exchange resource list for kids with LGBT parents · education
10. LGBTQ Classrooms early-childhood resource page · education
11. Existing v3 record for Who's in a Family? · internal
12. Existing v3 record for 123: A Family Counting Book · internal
13. Existing packet record for While You Were Sleeping · internal