A young mermaid wakes up from a nap and asks her two dads, “Why do I have two daddies?” They explain to her and her sister Birdie that “all families are different” and that some have different numbers of mommies and daddies. “Are we all loved the same?” asks Addie. Her dads assure her that they are. They also tell her that all families like to play games and have family dinners, although in some families, the parents work and can’t always be there for dinner. This leads Addie’s Papa to reassert, “So you see, all families are different.” He adds that some are different colors, too.
This leads Addie to compare families to a rainbow. Her dads offer to show them, and take Addie, Birdie, and their baby brother to the surface of the ocean, where they see a beautiful rainbow over a sea filled with different types of families.
It’s a loving message—and if this story is more message than adventures, author Erik Alexander has told me it is the first of a planned series that will include “an adventurous spin” as well as ways of opening conversations on important topics.
