Me and Ms. Too: A Heartwarming Picture Book about Blended Families and a Librarian Stepmom for Children

by Laura Ruby, Dung Ho (Illustrator)

National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby and New York Times-bestselling illustrator Dung Ho bring us an unforgettable story of the many different ways in which families are made and the beautiful, unknowable, magical things that hold them together.

For as long as Molly can remember, it's always just been her and Dad. Dad, who likes to splash in the pool, who likes to spin at the park, who bakes the best cookies around.

But that was before Dad married Ms. Too.

Ms. Too doesn't like to splash. She doesn't like to spin. And she can't bake anything.

“But Molly, you used to love Ms. Too.”

That was before, when she was Molly’s favorite librarian. Now everything has changed.

But as Molly and Ms. Too are about to discover, maybe change isn't always scary. Maybe change can be the best thing of all.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Fiction, Emotion, Divorce, Contemporary

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Raised in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, Laura Ruby now lives in Chicago with her family. Her short fiction for adults has appeared in various literary magazines, including Other Voices, The Florida Review, Sycamore Review and Nimrod. A collection of these stories, I'M NOT JULIA ROBERTS, was published by Warner Books in January 2007. Called "hilarious and heart-wrenching" by People and "a knowing look at the costs and rewards of remaking a family," by the Hartford-Courant, the book was also featured in Redbook, Working Mother , and USA Today among others.

Ruby is also the author of the Edgar-nominated children's mystery LILY'S GHOSTS (8/03), the children's fantasy THE WALL AND THE WING (3/06) and a sequel, THE CHAOS KING (5/07) all from Harpercollins. She writes for older teens as well, and her debut young adult novel, GOOD GIRLS (9/06), also from Harpercollins, was a Book Sense Pick for fall 2006 and an ALA Quick Pick for 2007. A new young adult novel, PLAY ME, is slated for publication in fall of 2008. Her books have sold in England, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Montenegro. THE WALL AND THE WING is currently in development with Laika Studios for release as an animated feature.

Ms. Ruby has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association's annual convention, and Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.

Currently, she is working on several thousand projects, drinking way too much coffee, and searching for new tunes for her iPod.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saturday night family picture book read-aloud! (Book 3 of 3)

Molly is a young girl who is used to having her single father all to herself, and she gets all jealous and snitty when he falls for Ms. Blue, the hot children's librarian, and marries her. By frequently asking, "Is she coming too?" Molly's bad attitude inspires her father to nickname the stepmother "Ms. Too."

There isn't much humor or tension in whether Molly will warm up to Ms. Too, so I was mildly bored throughout.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, do I think that maybe Molly's dad is a bit of a deadbeat who has stopped doing things with his daughter because he's got a new wife who will do it for him? Maybe. Let's just pretend there are lots of things happening off the page we don't get to see. I really enjoyed the approach of this book, which lets kids see the good things about Ms Too even while Molly is focusing on the bad things. This could be a great book for kids going through the period of change when a new step-parent moves in.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always just been Molly and her dad, and she liked it that way. But now, Dad has married Ms. Too, and everything has changed. Molly doesn't like the changes. Dad gently tries to point out the things that Molly liked about Ms. Too before the marriage, but Molly is struggling to adjust to the changes. Having experienced my parents remarrying, I remember those feelings...of liking my new stepdad as a person but hating that he was now my stepdad. Of not liking the changes, even though some of them were good changes. It's complicated and I love how gently both Molly's Dad and Ms. Too handle her feelings and the efforts Ms. Too makes to build a relationship with Molly.

[IvyInThePages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.25 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children/ Picture book
Type: Book
Worth?: Eh, kinda...

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, what if your stepmother was the librarian? That's what happens to the little girl in this story. If you're looking for a new story for your units on families, a love story in a library that's for a younger crowd than Love in the Library or a story about how families with new members adjust, this is for you.

[Georgina Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the pictures and the story of a child developing a relationship with her new stepmom.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful story featuring a father/daughter relationship that's turned upside down by the new-found friendship of the female librarian. Told from the little girl's (Molly) perspective, we learn how things were just fine when Ms. Blue was just the librarian and now everything is different. A terrific addition to libraries, classrooms and homes.

[Katie Woodard]

This is a story about a young girl named Molly who is having a hard time getting used to her dad's new partner, Ms. Too. She was having a hard time sharing her dad with someone else, seeing the changes Ms. Too was making to her house, and just the fact that her life was very different now that Ms. Too was involved. Molly feels like Ms. Too is just taking up too many things in her life and it feels like too much of a change for Molly. She thinks about Ms. Too before she was involved with her dad and realizes she didn't have any problems with her then. So as time goes on Molly begins to realize that Ms. Too really cares about her and brings happiness to their family, so she decides to give her a chance. By the end of the story, she enjoys Ms. Too's company and is glad that she is apart of her family.
I would use this book in my future classroom to help students learn how to embrace change, accept love, and open their hearts to relationships with new people. A fun way to get students to practice this would be to act out a situation where someone new joins the class and have students practice different ways they could welcome them. I think this is an important book to have in my classroom because I know many children have step parents and they may not have the best relationships with them for reasons like the girl in this story. But showing students this book will hopefully allow them to look at their step parents in a new perspective and realize they are an important part of their life so they should take advantage of their love and care.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Molly. I hate change and I'm extremely possessive of the people I love. I'm never quite secure enough that I won't be replaced. (And I don't have the excuse of being a six-year-old.) Oh, and my stepcat Duncan looks just like the lynx with the kitten friend! Needless to say, I couldn't help but smile at this one. Molly's rather annoying, but in a realistic way, and you can't really blame her. Her dad seems to be bungling the transition in every conceivable way. He seems like a nice guy but maybe not the most useful/competent person.

I'm just going to assume that Molly's dad sent the new wife to do everything he used to do with his daughter so that they'd bond (and the new stepmother might've seemed like an interloper if she came along with both of them), not because he was like "oh thank god now I don't have to be a dad."

The illustrations are really interesting - they almost look like they're intended to be paintings of cardboard cutouts propped up on stands. They're dimensional but also flat. I have no idea how to word it, but it's really unusual.

[Janet Squires · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Molly can’t recall a time when family wasn’t just her and her father. They were always together – to splash in the pool, bake treats, play at the park.

Suddenly, that all changes when he marries Molly’s favorite librarian. Ms. Blue was great at reading stories and helping find just the right book. But she doesn’t like to get wet. She’s no good at making muffins. She can’t even cut the kiwis correctly. Everything has changed!

Laura Ruby has created a thoughtful, empathetic story that is reassuring, and hopeful as it reminds us that families can come in many forms. Both Molly and young readers discover that difficult as change sometimes is, it can also create wonderful opportunities.

The colorful, richly detailed illustrations pair beautifully with the text.

For Ages 4-8.
Recommended for home and school libraries.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book gives just enough acknowledgment to the complications that can arise between a stepmother and a stepdaughter.

Ms. Too used to be Molly’s favorite librarian. Now everything has changed.

Ms. Too doesn't like to splash. She doesn't like to spin. And she can't bake anything. My goodness, is there any hope for this newly configured family?

A FAVORITE DETAIL, A TELLING DETAIL

The wedding was in our backyard, right by my sandbox.

Oh, that poor little girl!!!!!

RATING THIS BOOK

I found the depiction of changes within the family to be very convincing. And, yes, according to my rating policy, I think this will seem like a FIVE STAR book for the intended readers. Phew! I do like happy endings.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

"For as long as Molly can remember, it's always just been her and Dad. Dad, who likes to splash in the pool, who likes to spin at the park, who bakes the best cookies around. But that was before Dad married Ms. Too. Ms. Too doesn't like to splash. She doesn't like to spin. And she can't bake anything. 'But Molly, you used to love Ms. Too.' That was before, when she was Molly's favorite librarian. Now everything has changed. But as Molly and Ms. Too are about to discover, maybe change isn't always scary. Maybe change can be the best thing of all."--

Excellent book, showing the adjustment of a child with a new step-parent in their life.

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

This is a well-written picture book about a hard topic! The main character is a little girl who has grown up in a single-parent household with her father. When he starts a serious relationship with a woman from town, the girl has a very hard time with sharing her dad, meshing what she knows about the woman from the community with the new role she is playing in their lives, and ultimately with having a mother figure. While helping her through this life-changing event, I think all of the adult characters in the book handled this difficult situation beautifully. I highly recommend this book!

~ Miss Emily

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, a title illustrated digitally with Adobe Photoshop and I am giving it four stars, I amaze myself. But this is a good story of adaption to family change. The young girl does express her displeasure with a major change in her life, she now has to share her Dad with his new wife. The new wife just happens to be the child’s favorite librarian.
The illustrations are full and brimming with detail to explore of their home interior to visits to the park, the playground, and the zoo. I think it was the detail that made me not notice the digital renderings.

[Daija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is for children. The key topic is to show that change isn’t always a bad thing. In this story we learn about the different things Molly and her Dad enjoyed doing. However, once he married Molly’s favorite librarian, Ms.Too, things changed. Molly and her dad used to always splash in the pool, spin at the park, bake cookies and so much more, however Ms.Too didn’t like any of that stuff so she and Molly found different things that they both enjoy. I rate this story a 5/5 because it shows that change isn’t always bad. Many people think it is but it’s not.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a few laugh out loud moments. The absurd wallpaper. The girl's stepmom came with a lot of books (like me!). The girl described her stepmom's wedding gown as looking like underwear.

This is a picture book about adjusting to a blended family and how families can grow in different ways and still be okay. I liked the symbolism of the stray cat in the zoo and how it helped the big cat be okay by living in the same enclosure. They didn't have to be the same to be okay or be better. Differences made all the difference.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When Dad married Ms. Too, everything changed.”

Molly is having trouble accepting her new stepmother. See, Ms. Too is changing things and Molly doesn’t like it. “Before Ms. Too, my house looked like my house and nobody elses’s. My dad was my dad and nobody else’s.” Even when Ms Too takes her places she Molly likes to go, Ms Too doesn’t do things the way Molly and her father did. But slowly, Molly warms to her new mother.

Sweet story.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly and her Dad have always been a family doing everything together. She was surprised and a bit insulted when she realized the public librarian had stolen his heart. Things were different quickly, especially after the wedding. Molly deals with her frustrations and fears at her own pace, as it should be in real life.

This is an important topic in my schools. Many parents remarry and it is a conversation that could be softened using this children's book.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molly loves being with her dad. But then he marries Ms. Too. Molly doesn't like her and she doesn't like that she has to share her dad. Then Molly does things with Ms. Too like cooking and going places like the zoo. I like that Molly learns to like Ms. Too and they become a new family. (review by Sophia, 4th grade)

[Amy Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tender, kind, and empathetic story about a young girl’s journey with her newly blended family. Full of vibrant, detailed, and heart-catching illustrations. I clutched my chest in “awww” more than once.

[Brandon Dyer (Children's Librarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great grouping up story about having a step-parent and dynamics in brings in the household. A lot of children that come from a divorce or separated family can relate to the feelings and the family dynamic that main character is facing.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hehehe
I saw a TikTok from a Children's Librarian. She was asked what picturebook she is hesitant to recommend and it's this one. It's about a single lady who's a Children's Librarian and meets a single father during storytime. They fall in love and get married. Hahaha

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well shoot. I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up. It might have hit a little too close to home at exactly the most ironic time. I am glad the ending worked out, or I think I would have been a mess.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this picture book about a girl whose Dad falls for a librarian! She likes Ms Too before her Dad starts dating and marries her. But-spoiler alert-she adjusts and find common ground. Sweet and nicely illustrated.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Molly's Dad brings home a new wife, life changes for Molly. New books come in, decor, routines, zoo and park trips, baking, sharing time, and enjoying things as a family. But there is a transition period.

[Jenna Dixon]

Love the topic of stepparents, and the cute derailed illustrations of this childrens book. Yes, I'm an adult who likes to read childrens books, 😃. I think the dialog is heartfelt and fun for young children, great social and emotional learning text.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very sweet book about the real feelings of a young child when their parent marries someone else and how things change. Of course, I loved that the father married a librarian. Great book to show how beautiful the blending of two families can be once you give it a chance.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hugged this book when I finished it, really, I did! The arc of the main character is strong, the storyline is so full of love, and the art...oh, the art!!! I wanted to move into those pictures. What a beautiful book!

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a blended family and how "too" is not always a bad thing. Bright illustrations that compliment simple, but complete text.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweetly authentic story about a family changing told from a young girl’s POV.