A charming little tale that perfectly captures the interactive nature of children and their bedtime stories.
A young girl wants to hear the story of when her Mom met her Mama—but for her, a story means “dragons and unicorns and trolls.” Her obliging Mom weaves a tale, with the girl interjecting story elements like a castle, a mermaid (Mama), and a pirate attack.
The pirate reads as nonbinary (or perhaps genderqueer like author C. Rowen Maccarald), using he/him pronouns and sporting a mustache, but with somewhat feminine facial features and a desire to become a mermaid. In the story-within-the story, Mama helps the pirate (who is also a wizard) achieve this wish, and the pirate in turn helps Mama and Mom be together. The sub-story closes with their wedding.
As for whether any of that adventure really happened, Mom isn’t saying….
This story reminds me (in tone, not details) of the 2011 picture book The Different Dragon, another story about a two-mom family spinning a bedtime tale. Try it with the young story lovers and storytellers in your life!
Mom and the girl are White; Mama is Black.
