If you have time on your hands and don’t want to watch yet another Netflix show, consider picking up one of the following books to share with your family. These are some of our staff favorites, and we think you’ll enjoy them as much as we do. Each title includes a brief description taken from the jacket copy.
Children’s Books
The Bean Family Sprouts -Growing Stronger through New Experiences by Lora Shahine, MD
This is a simple story about a Bean Family facing the challenge of sprouting—moving from a comfortable home below ground to a new life above ground set with beautiful and engaging illustrations. Change is difficult, and any new experience brings emotions—from excitement and exhilaration to nervousness and fear. But we cannot grow, thrive, and build resilience without change.
![Love Makes a Family by [Sophie Beer]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Z6N-yEdhL._SX260_.jpg)
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
This fun, inclusive board book celebrates the one thing that makes every family a family—and that’s love. Love is baking a special cake. Love is lending a helping hand. Love is reading one more book. In this exuberant board book, many different families are shown in happy activity, from an early-morning wake-up to a kiss before bed. Whether a child has two moms, two dads, one parent, or one of each, this simple preschool read-aloud demonstrates that what’s most important in each family’s life is the love the family members share.
![My Two Moms and Me by [Michael Joosten, Izak Zenou]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517c4DPGf9L.jpg)
My Two Moms and Me by Michael Joosten
Celebrate Pride every day with this adorable board book for the babies and toddlers of lesbian mothers, featuring a variety of diverse, loving families with two moms. Families with same-sex parents are celebrated in this board book that follows busy moms and their kids throughout their day—eating breakfast, going on a playdate, heading to the pool for a swim, and settling back in at night with a bedtime story and a good-night lullaby. LGBTQ+ parents and their friends and families will welcome this inclusive and cheerful book that reflects their own lives and family makeup.
For Mommy So Loved You: IUI Conception by Leigh James
For Mommy So Loved You is a heartfelt story about a single woman creating her family through intrauterine insemination with an anonymous donor. This book illustrates the process in a delightful way that both children and adults will enjoy. For Mommy So Loved You will help familiarize your child with their conception story and they will love to hear how they came to be.
The Pea That Was Me by Kimberly Kluger-Bell, LMFT
The Pea That Was Me is a charming introduction to sperm donation for kids of single moms by choice for children ages 3 and up. In a positive and upbeat way, children are told how it takes a sperm and an egg to make “a little pea” that grows into baby, and then becomes a little boy or girl. Emphasis is on how much the child was wanted, and how grateful mommy is to the “very kind donor” who helped make it all possible.
Books for Parents
Going Solo: My Choice to Become a Single Mother Using a Donor by Genevieve Roberts
Aged thirty-seven, single and having experienced two miscarriages, Genevieve Roberts found out that her fertility levels were dwlindling. On hearing this news, she made the courageous decision to embark on motherhood solo and eventually became pregnant using a sperm donor. Going Solo is for anyone whose life has taken an unexpected twist; for people who are interested in modern families and for those who want to take control of their life and follow their dreams of parenthood. It celebrates the fulfillment that comes from following what makes you happy, and reminds us that beauty may be found when life offers a surprise or a deviation from convention.
Confession of the Other Mother: Non-Biological Lesbian Moms Tell All by Harlyn Aizley
This candid peek into a previously unexamined side of lesbian parenting is full of stories that are sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, but at all times celebratory. Each parenting tale sheds light on the many facets of motherhood, offering gay and straight readers alike a deeper understanding of what it means to love and parent in the twenty-first century.
Knock Yourself Up: A Tell-All Guide to Becoming a Single Mom by Louise Sloan
The second edition of this straightforward and lighthearted guide to achieving single motherhood addresses a range of concerns, from artificial insemination methods and handling pregnancy while single to managing finances and addressing the concerns of friends and family members. This book will have you giggling along the way!
Let us know what you’re reading! Or, if you want to make a recommendation for our 2020 summer reading list, contact us at cs@seattlespermbank.com with your book suggestion, and tell us why we should include it in our next roundup.