An article posted on Yahoonews.com yesterday talks about a new storybook on a child's fear of losing a favorite uncle to another is challenged by a mom unhappy that the adults in question are both males.
Colo. librarian defends gay-marriage storybook
Wed Jul 16, 6:52 PM ET
A new children's book that treats a child's fear of losing a favorite
uncle's affection has been challenged by a Colorado mom unhappy that the adults
in question are both males.
"Uncle Bobby's Wedding," by Sarah Brannen
(Putnam; $15.95), was challenged this month by a Douglas County mom who wants it
removed from the county library, library director Jamie Larue wrote on his blog
Monday.
Larue, who researched the issue for his response to the parent,
said it appears to be the first formal protest of the book, which was published
in March.
In the story, Chloe the guinea pig is devastated when she
learns her Uncle Bobby plans to wed. Bobby and his fiance, also guinea pigs, win
her over by doing fun things like going to the ballet and roasting marshmallows,
until, she declares, "It's like having two uncles!" When the tuxedo-clad
critters hold their spring wedding, Chloe is the beaming flower girl.
"I
think you're right that the purpose of the book is to show a central event, the
wedding of two male characters, as no big thing," Larue wrote the apoplectic
parent.
"The emotional center of the story, of course, is Chloe's fear
that she's losing a favorite uncle to another relationship. That fear, I think,
is real enough to be an issue for a lot of young children. But yes, Sarah
Brannen clearly was trying to portray gay marriage as normal, as not nearly so
important as the changing relationship between a young person and her favorite
uncle."
To the parent's second objection, that the book is
"inappropriate" to its age group, Larue replied, "Children's books deal with
anything and everything," noting that even such horse chestnuts as "Hansel and
Gretel" handle troubling issues such as hunger and abandonment. (Barbara Wilcox,
The Advocate)
