Dottie’s Back with a New Sing-Along Book Asking “Who’s In Your Family?” (Plus a Secret Perk)

Ten years ago, Dottie’s Magic Pockets became the first live-action series created especially for kids with LGBTQ parents. A music album followed. Now, its creators are back with a companion book to their song “Who’s in Your Family?” (and you can get a “super secret” early-bird perk)!

The original Dottie DVD included two episodes about stay-at-home mom Dottie, whose son left her a present—a sweater with magic pockets—so she wouldn’t feel lonely while he was in school and her partner working elsewhere. Glitter in the pockets transforms Dottie’s living room into a colorful, whimsical playground for herself and several new friends: James, a tea-loving French daisy; Motilda the Mouse; Randal, a slightly nerdy beaver; Wally the Wall; and Uncanny the Singing Can. The show’s creator, Tammy Stoner, developed Dottie because she could not find any videos for her four-year-old son that featured families like their own. (Here’s my original review of it, from back when my own now-high schooler was four.)

In 2010, the team behind Dottie released an audio-only album, The Super Secret Seashell Cave, where Dottie and her puppet friends take go on a musical adventure in search of the eponymous cave. Along the way, they meet new friends, including a squeaky squirrel, a beetle with two moms, and a monkey adopted by a baboon. Rather than feeling like a “special” album for kids of queer parents that still sets them apart, Seashell feels like what the whole next generation of children’s music should sound like—inclusive, fun, and revealing of the society around us.

Now, they’ve taken the one song that touches most overtly on family structure, “Who’s In Your Family?” and launched an Indiegogo campaign so you can get it as a colorful and fun sing-along book (and download the song free on their website). The song speaks of many types of families: ones with same-sex parents, different-sex parents, single-parents, and more. It is kept from cloying by silly lines like, “Who’s in your family? One dad or three aunts/ Who’s in your family? A rooster who wears pants.” I’ve had its catchy tune stuck in my head all day since I started writing this post. One could imagine a group of LGBTQ families and friends singing it together at Family Week in P’Town or another LGBTQ gathering.

They have lots of great perks on their Indiegogo page, including stickers, posters, the full Super Secret Seashell Cave CD, and more. And, as a “super secret” perk, get $10 off their featured perk until November 22 through this link. Not only that, but for every 10 books ordered they will donate one book to a library, “because we believe ALL families should be represented in children’s media.”

I’m delighted to be writing once again about Dottie and her friends, and hope you’ll become friends of theirs, too. Hear Producer Andrea Maxwell talk more about the book (and hear some clips of the song) in the video below.

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