Emma and Meesha My Boy
Kaitlyn Taylor Considine; illustrated by Binny Hobbs
Published 2005
Collection Context
A two-mother early-reader picture book in which family structure appears inside an ordinary pet-care story.
Overview
Emma and Meesha My Boy is a 2005 picture book by Kaitlyn Taylor Considine, illustrated by Binny Hobbs. Emma lives with two mothers, called Mama and Mommy, but the plot is mainly about her learning how to treat the family cat gently. ALA selected the book for the 2008 Rainbow Project Book List and describes it for Pre-K readers. That recognition gives the item a stronger public trail than many small-press family books. Its value is the ordinary scale of the story: the two-mother family is present, while the child's daily lesson is pet care.[1][2][3][5][8]
Two Mothers In The Background
Several sources emphasize that Emma's two mothers are introduced clearly, but the main story is not an explanation of same-sex parenting. The plot follows Emma and the family cat, Meesha My Boy. Family Diversities notes that the two mothers are an element of the story rather than its main focus. That makes the book useful for studying normalization: the family is visible, while the child's ordinary problem carries the narrative.[1][7][8]
Pet Care As Plot
The book's action is simple and concrete. Emma tries to handle, dress, feed, paint, or otherwise play with Meesha, and her mothers guide her toward gentler care. ALA summarizes the lesson as Emma enjoying being told yes after learning to be nice to her cat. The pet-care frame gives very young readers a familiar behavioral story, while the two-mother family remains an ordinary household fact.[2][5][7][8]
Rainbow List Recognition
The 2008 Rainbow Project Book List selected Emma and Meesha My Boy for beginning readers, placing it alongside Antonio's Card, And Tango Makes Three, and other early-childhood titles. That professional context matters. A small-press book with limited trade infrastructure could still become visible through library selection work. The record therefore belongs not only to two-mother representation, but also to the history of LGBTQIA+ children's-book discoverability.[2][3][4]
Timeline
- 2005PublicationALA and bookseller records date the title to 2005.[2][5]
- 2008Rainbow selectionALA's Rainbow Project Book List selected the title for beginning readers.[2][3]
- 2015Review circulationDiverse Kids Books reviewed the title as a two-mom story centered on Emma and her cat.[7]
- 2010sFamily-diversity resource useFamily-diversity resource guides continued to describe the book for early-childhood readers.[8]
Two-Mother Early-Reader Context
Related records show different ways two-mother families enter early-childhood books.
1989
Heather Has Two Mommies
Landmark two-mother picture book.
2005
Emma and Meesha My Boy
Two-mother household inside a pet-care story.
2009
Mom, Mama, and Me
Board book about everyday life with two mothers.
Explore Connections
Browse direct links, shared themes, and nearby publication dates.
Linked records
Antonio's Card / La tarjeta de Antonio
Both titles appear in the 2008 Rainbow Book List beginning-reader group.
References [3]
Mom, Mama, and Me
Both books place two mothers inside ordinary daily routines for very young readers.
Heather Has Two Mommies
Heather foregrounds a two-mother family, while Emma and Meesha My Boy makes the family visible inside a pet-care plot.
And Tango Makes Three
Both 2005 titles appear in the 2008 Rainbow Book List, though they differ sharply in publisher scale and public attention.
References [3]
Shared themes
Going to Fair Day
An Australian Learn to Include early reader presenting same-sex-parent families through ordinary child activities.
My House
An Australian Learn to Include early reader presenting same-sex-parent families through ordinary child activities.
Koalas on Parade
An Australian Learn to Include early reader presenting same-sex-parent families through ordinary child activities.
The Rainbow Cubby House
An Australian Learn to Include early reader presenting same-sex-parent families through ordinary child activities.
Nearby dates
And Tango Makes Three
A Simon & Schuster picture book based on two male chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo and the chick they helped hatch.
Antonio's Card / La tarjeta de Antonio
A bilingual Children's Book Press picture book about art, Mother's Day, and a child naming his two-mother family.
Koalas on Parade
An Australian Learn to Include early reader presenting same-sex-parent families through ordinary child activities.
Spacegirl Pukes
An Onlywomen Press early-years title in the collection's UK two-mother picture-book cluster.
Citation
Emma and Meesha My Boy. Kaitlyn Taylor Considine; illustrated by Binny Hobbs. TWOMOMBOOKS.com / Two Moms Books, 2005. Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection, Mechanics' Institute. Collection ID: KB-062.
Showing Plain text citation format.
Sources
Cover image from Open Library.
- Local collection catalog record for Emma and Meesha My Boy · catalog
- ALA award record for Emma and Meesha My Boy · award
- 2008 Rainbow Book List · bibliography
- ALA Rainbow Project Book List overview · bibliography
- AllBookstores listing for Emma and Meesha My Boy · bibliographic
- CiNii author record for Binny Hobbs · library
- Diverse Kids Books review of Emma and Meesha My Boy · review
- Family Diversities Reading Resource · education
- AfterEllen children's-books overview including Emma and Meesha My Boy · review
- Open Library cover image for ISBN 9781413416008 · image
