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| Uncle Bobby's wedding |
| Brannen, Sarah S. |
| A bit bland, but does the job. Chloe's sad and confused when her uncle announces that he's marrying Jamie--not because Jamie is another male, but because she's afraid it means her uncle will have less time for her. After spending time with both of them, she realizes she's gaining an uncle, not losing one. All characters are furry creatures (guinea pigs?), not humans. |
| Children's Fiction BRANNEN |
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| 10,000 dresses |
| Ewert, Marcus. |
| Bailey dreams of dresses, beautiful dresses unlike any other. But when she tells her mother, father, and brother about her dreams, they insist that she is a boy ("But...I don't feel like a boy," Bailey answers) and that dresses are not for her. Bailey takes a walk and finds a frustrated girl sitting on a porch, trying to sew a dress--and Bailey helps her by sharing details from the dreams. The girl ultimately tells Bailey, "You're the coolest girl I've ever met."
This book actually made my eyebrows raise, and not much does. The matter-of-fact way in which Bailey is referred to by the narrator as "she," phrases like "Together the two girls made two new dresses"--it's astonishing, really, how cool this book is. As far as the narrator, Bailey, and the other girl are concerned, Bailey is a girl--none of them ever think or suggest otherwise. Quite something, really. Surprising. |
| Children's Fiction EWERT |
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| King & King |
| Haan, Linda de, 1965- |
| The queen is fed up with her single son; she wants him to marry a princess and become king. He rejects princess after princess, until a final princess walks in accompanied by her prince brother...and the brother stirs the first prince's heart. Wonderful illustrations, sweet story, and the two princes marry and live happily ever after (with no objection from the queen)--however, I'm not completely thrilled with the depictions of the stereotypically "unattractive" princesses the prince rejects. I'd rather it be made clear repeatedly that NO princess, however beautiful, could move our prince. |
| Children's Fiction HAAN |
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| The paper bag princess |
| Munsch, Robert N., 1945- |
| It just doesn't get any better than this! When a dragon burns down her castle and clothes and takes her fiance, Prince Ronald, captive, Princess Elizabeth sets out to save her fiance in a paper-bag dress. The surprise at the ending is priceless. (Must admit I skip the pages in which Elizabeth, in order to tire out the dragon, challenges him to burn down 50 forests, then 100 forests. The book was written in a less eco-aware time [not that that's a good excuse]). |
| Easy Picture BookMUNSCH |
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| Mommy, mama, and me |
| Newman, Leslea. |
| See also "Daddy, Papa, and Me" by the same author. These are board books that don't make a big deal--or even a little deal--about a kid having same-sex parents. They just run with it, as a book with a mommy and a daddy would do. Great rhyming text, nice simple illustrations, and the gender of the toddler in each book is never mentioned. Absolutely winning. |
| Easy Fiction NEWMAN |
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| In our mothers' house |
| Polacco, Patricia. |
| A lesbian couple's oldest daughter tells the story of her childhood, from her and her siblings' adoption, to favorite family activities and rituals, to the end of her two moms' lives and her brother's family deciding to move into their house. "Meema" and "Marmee," the moms, are both white and have close-cropped hair, while their children are African, Asian, and white, all adopted from different countries. Just a sweet, simple telling of what it was like to be part of this happy family--no major drama. At one neighborhood block party, a woman who was invited but chose not to bring her family (and who has made several appearances throughout the book "glaring" at the narrator's family) approaches Meema and Marmee, says "I don't appreciate what you are," and stalks off. "What's the matter with her, Momma?" their youngest asks and Meema answers, "She is full of fear, sweetie. She's afraid of what she cannot understand: she doesn't understand *us*." Marmee whispers, "There seems to be no love in her heart, either"--and the other neighbors at the block party agree, hug the two moms, and go on with the party.
I get taken in by Polacco's illustrations: I want to dislike them and generally wince at them (in all of her books, not just this one)--because they have a kind of 1970s-sketch look to them that makes me worry that they won't appeal to kids (or a lot of adults, myself included). But in the end, they are just so warm and loving that they *do* appeal to me, and I wouldn't want them to be any different than they are.
A fine book, with--as is usual with Polacco--more text than the average picture book, so better for one-on-one (or two) reading then in a storytime-type setting. |
| Children's Fiction POLACCO |
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| And Tango makes three |
| Richardson, Justin, 1963- |
| A sweet, innocent, true story about two male penguins at the New York zoo who wanted (and got) to raise a baby penguin--Tango--as their own. "And Tango" has been #1 on the American Library Association's list of banned and challenged books for the past few years, which seems all the more ridiculous when you know the story is true. Sigh. |
| Easy Picture BookRICHARD |
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| Pugdog |
| U'Ren, Andrea. |
| Yes, this pug is a female, but that doesn't mean she wants to be dressed up in dainty ribbons--she wants to play in the dirt & wear a spiked collar! How can she convince her owner that she's not a girly-girl just because she was born female, and shouldn't have to be? |
| Easy Picture BookUREN |
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| William's doll |
| Zolotow, Charlotte, 1915- |
| William likes his ball and his trucks, but he wants a doll more than anything. And he gets one. And the earth doesn't open up and swallow him. An early classic. If I taught preschool or kindergarten, I'd definitely share this book with my class early in the year. |
| Easy Picture BookZOLOTOW |
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Books that feature gay families, books that challenge stereotypical gender roles, etc. 
On Sep 30, 2009 at 11:26, 
