Johnny presents a young narrator who is accompanied with his two moms and goes to a park, where he gets lost while his mothers are talking to a friend. The initial pictures depicts that he meets an animal first, plays with it and finally he realizes that he is lost. He eventually meets McFinks who are willing to lend a helping hand in this situation however there is a strong resistance that he faces, after they get to know about his non-traditional family. The narrator further moves ahead and comes across a large family, who seem to understand his situation in a better way and help him to find his Moms again, after which everyone in the park except McFinks spend a good time together, giving the story a happy ending.
The illustrations that we see in the picture book, as provided by Angelo Lopez are very bright and provide a very cheerful environment to the children however on one hand where it gives explicit definitions of a wonderful playful environment it simultaneously brings the complexity of homosexual relations and their interaction with the traditional social settings. Lopez has been instrumental in providing a very unique message to everyone, where there are diverse characters showing various types of facial features and races along with social and personal acceptance, this can lead to a common understanding of the fact that there are differences everywhere however it is ok to have multiple colors in a rainbow.
The writing style is didactic and forces the viewer or reader to take the messages from the situations faced by the narrator. The initial opening of the story with the concept of two mothers does not seem to be very different until and unless McFinks enter the plot and create a difference by their behavior due to uniqueness of the family in which the narrator lived. Another major issue that the book highlights is the fact that there are many children that go missing while playing and outlines the importance of helping them in order to find their family back and that a quick action in this regards can really save much troubles that may be caused to a family.
The book also seems to assume the fact that the children may be able to understand the social implications of a family with two moms, however it is understood that most of them may fantasize the great idea of having two mothers as they may not correctly infer from the challenges that the narrator faces during this small tale, due to the family being fairly untraditional. This point was even clear to the author and that can be understood from the fact that McFinks are introduced to the story to present an actual impact of having two moms. There is a very short term phase of happiness with the entry of the imaginary animal 'Zarl' although it does not play a very important role in the plot of the story however it becomes the reason behind the narrator getting lost and the following incidents taking place. Finally the author gets successful to highlight the themes of homosexual parents and children getting lost, as a couple of issues in the society however the end of the story does not formally provide any importance to these and gives a happy ending to the targeted readers who are expected to enjoy the brightness and imagery more than the lessons of social understanding.
References
Valentine, Johnny. Two Moms, the Zark, and Me. Boston: Alyson Wonderland, 1993.
