Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums

Overview

Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums is a 2007 BAAF Publications picture book by Hedi Argent, illustrated by Amanda Wood, about adopted twins with two adoptive mothers and a birth mother. The publisher describes the children as five-year-old twins adopted by Sue and Fran and facing a school family-tree assignment. That premise gives the item a precise place in the collection: it is not only a two-mother story, but also an adoption and birth-family story. The family tree project becomes the book's interpretive center because it forces children and adults to decide whether family diagrams can hold adoptive parents, birth parents, same-sex parents, and classroom visibility together. The CoramBAAF context makes the book especially useful as a practice-facing resource for adopted or fostered children with same-sex parents or carers.^[1][2][3]

Family Tree As The Problem

The school family-tree assignment is the book's strongest device. Josh and Jaz worry that a conventional family tree cannot represent their family without exposing them to ridicule or erasing someone important. That question is practical and emotional at once. For adopted children, a tree may need to include birth parents, adoptive parents, and complex histories. For children with lesbian adoptive parents, it also has to make room for a two-mother household. The assignment turns a classroom task into a test of family form. Open Library, Browns, and the local record together preserve evidence for the title's date, publisher, extent, and story detail.^{[1][2][3][14][15][19][20]}

The Meaning Of Three Mums

The title's three mothers are not a comic exaggeration. Public and local records indicate that the twins have two adoptive mothers and a birth mother. That distinction gives the book a more exact role than many two-mother titles. It asks readers to think about how children hold several forms of care and origin together. The book's value is that it does not reduce adoption to a simple before-and-after story; it keeps birth family present while affirming the adoptive household. The professional adoption context makes the title more precise than a general two-mother book.^{[1][2][4][17]}

BAAF Resource Context

The publisher context is central. CoramBAAF frames the book as useful for children who are adopted or fostered by same-sex parents or carers, as well as for general teaching about different families. That professional and practice-facing setting distinguishes the item from trade picture books whose first purpose is general story reading. Josh and Jaz functions as a narrative object and as a resource for adults who need language for adoption, fostering, classroom projects, and family diversity. CoramBAAF's own history clarifies why the publisher's adoption and fostering role matters for interpretation.^{[2][6][5][16]}

Classroom Anxiety And Display

The local record notes that the twins fear classmates will laugh, but their completed family tree is displayed at the center of the classroom wall. That movement from anxiety to display is important. It does not merely say that their family exists; it gives their family a public classroom form. The book therefore belongs beside Asha's Mums and All Families Are Special, where school space becomes a stage for recognizing families that do not match a single expected pattern. That evidence keeps the record useful for researchers because it marks circulation, intended audience, and collection role rather than treating the title as a simple recommendation.^{[1][2][11][12][3]}

Timeline

1. 2007PublicationCoramBAAF records the book's publication date and ISBN.^[2]
2. 2007Adoption and classroom plotThe publisher description frames the story around adopted twins and a family-tree assignment.^[2]
3. 2007Resource-list circulationOut For Our Children listed the book among early-years and primary resources.^[3]
4. 2010sFamily diversities resourceThe Family Diversities Reading Resource included the title in an inclusive family reading context.^[5]
5. Collection contextAdoption and classroom clusterThe item connects to adoption-origin and classroom recognition records.^[8][11]
6. Future copy checkCopy-level verificationThe held copy should confirm contributor order, page count, and edition statement.^[1]
7. 2007Library catalogingOpen Library records the BAAF publication and identifiers.^[14]
8. 2012Hedi Argent contextA BAAF PDF identifies Argent's adoption consultancy and writing context.^[17]

Adoption, Fostering, And Family Trees

Related records show how adoption and same-sex-parent families are explained to children.

Citation

Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums. Hedi Argent; illustrated by Amanda Wood. BAAF Publications, 2007. Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection, Mechanics' Institute. Collection ID: KB-057.

Sources

Cover image from Open Library.

1. Local collection catalog record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · catalog
2. CoramBAAF page for Josh and Jaz have three mums · publisher
3. Out For Our Children book list entry for Josh and Jess have Three Mums · education
4. Walmart bibliographic record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · bookseller
5. Family Diversities Reading Resource · education
6. CoramBAAF LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week resource page · publisher
7. Existing v3 record for Fostering and Adoption · internal
8. Existing v3 record for Felicia's Favorite Story · internal
9. Existing v3 record for In Our Mothers' House · internal
10. CoramBAAF LGBTQ+ adoption and fostering resource context · publisher_context
11. Existing v3 record for Asha's Mums · internal
12. Barnes & Noble record for All Families Are Special · bookseller
13. Open Library record for All Families Are Special · library
14. Open Library ISBN record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · library
15. Browns Books exact record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · bookseller
16. CoramBAAF history page · publisher_context
17. BAAF PDF identifying Hedi Argent's adoption work · creator
18. Open Library cover image for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · image
19. Open Library work record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · library
20. Browns Books record for Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums · bookseller
21. Devon School Library Service LGBTQ+ primary list · education