Uncle Bobby's Wedding

Author

Patricia Polacco

Marmee, Meema, and the kids are just like any other family on the block. In their beautiful house, they cook dinner together, they laugh together, and they dance together. But some of the other families don't accept them. They say they are different. How can a family have two moms and no dad? But Marmee...

Author	Justin Richardson
ISBN	0689878451

This true story about two penguins who live in the Central Park Zoo has been creating quite a controversy. I heard about the book this morning on The View (yes, I do inevitably end up watching four women squabbling on tv when I don't have to work, and controversies like this are the reason I keep going back!)....

Author	Tim Tingle
ISBN	0938317776

There is a river called Bok Chitto that cuts through Mississippi. In the days before the War Between the States, in the days before the Trail of Tears, Bok Chitto was a boundary. On one side of the river lived the Choctaws. On the other side lived the plantation owners and their slaves. If a slave escaped...

Author	Marcus Ewert
ISBN	1583228500

Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows… Unfortunately, when Bailey's awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary: "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey....

Author	Cheryl Kilodavis
ISBN	0615395945

My Princess Boy is a nonfiction picture book about acceptance. With words and illustrations even the youngest of children can understand, My Princess Boy tells the tale of 4-year-old boy who happily expresses his authentic self by happily dressing up in dresses, and enjoying traditional girl things...

Author	Harvey Fierstein
ISBN	1416903135

The Barnes & Noble Review

Let's just say that Elmer's not your run-of-the-mill duck. He likes to decorate cookies, enjoys building sand castles instead of forts, and would rather put on puppet shows than play sports. Being different is fine for sweet Elmer—he's as happy as a duck in water...

Author	Eve Bunting
ISBN	0395720958

Laura Iwasaki and her family are paying what may be their last visit to Laura's grandfather's grave. The grave is at Manzanar, where thousands of Americans of Japanese heritage were interned during World War II. Among those rounded up and taken to the internment camp were Laura's father, then a small...

Author	Todd Parr
ISBN	0316155632

I would not read this to children, even though the message is sweet (understanding of differences and the positive attributes of families), because of issues with racism.

The illustrations employ depictions of animals and humans of unnatural (purple, green, pink, bright yellow) colors...

Author	Nancy Garden
ISBN	0374350027

What makes a family?

The members of Ms. Marston's kindergarten class are cleaning and decorating their room for the upcoming Open School Night. Molly and Tommy work on drawing pictures to put on the walls. Molly draws her family: Mommy, Mama Lu, and her puppy, Sam. But when Tommy looks at her...

Author	Michael Willhoite
ISBN	1555831184

this book is FAIL.

well, let me clarify: this part is GREAT: "Mom says Daddy and Frank are gay./At first I didn't know what that meant. So she explained it./Being gay is just one more kind of love./ And love is the best kind of happiness." Lovely, appropriate, true.

but the illustrations...

Author	Jennifer Bryan
ISBN	0967446864

This bedtime story about bedtime stories shows how a lively, curious boy helps one of his moms create a magical tale. Together they weave a nighttime adventures that lands young Noah and his singing cat Diva deep in dragon territory. Join them as they make an unexpected discovery and help a new friend...

Author	Lesléa Newman
ISBN	1582462623

Not so long ago, we heard about Peter Parnell’s controversial children’s book And Tango Makes Three, a true story about a pair of male Penguins in Central Park Zoo raising a chick. In its wake, many other gay-centric picture books were drawn and penned. Writer Leslea Newman and illustrator Carol...

Author	Vanita Oelschlager
ISBN	0981971466

A Tale of Two Daddies is a playground conversation between two children. The boy says he heard that the girl has two dads. The girl says that is right--she has Daddy and Poppa. True to a child’s curiosity, practical questions follow: "Which dad helps when your team needs a coach? / Which dad cooks you...

Author	Carolivia Herron
ISBN	0679894454

This book was a fun experience! (I'll have to compare to the other three picturebooks on this theme.) The voice of the grandpa reminded me so much of my own grandpa, who also loved to push a joke. I thought the call/response storytelling was so fresh and unique, and the way fonts were used to represent different...

Author	Jack Prelutsky
ISBN	0060774592

I'm an awful, awful ogre,

Absolutely awful ogre.

I'm so awful, Awful Ogre

Is my awful ogre name ...

Awful Ogre is huge, hungry, horrible –– and totally lovable. Larger than life, Awful Ogre packs into one day enough excitement, imagination, emotion, and sheer...

Author	Amy Sonnie
ISBN	1555835589

Invisible. Unheard. Alone. Chilling words, but apt to describe the isolation and alienation of queer youth. In silence and fear they move from childhood memories of intolerance or violence to the unknown, unmentored landscape of queer adulthood, their voices stilled or ignored. No longer. Revolutionary...

Author	Charise Mericle Harper
ISBN	0316166766

Sometimes the motivation behind censoring a book completely escapes me. Although I strongly believe that censorship is unnecessary and counterproductive to creating a populace that is engaged and intelligent, sometimes I can understand where the outrage comes from. Not that I ever agree, but I...

Author	Linda de Haan
ISBN	1582460612

Once there lived a lovelorn prince whose mother decreed that he must marry by the end of the summer. So began the search to find the prince's perfect match and lo and behold... his name was Lee. You are cordially invited to join the merriest, most unexpected wedding of the year. King & King is a contemporary...

Author

Judith Vigna

This book is great. It tackles how some people don't like to see other people being gay. In this book, Elly has two uncles she loves, who are gay. Uncle Ned helps her make a present for Grampy and Gran. Grampy refuses to let Uncle Ned bring Uncle Phil, so Uncle Ned won't go. Elly is upset, and her dad sits her...

Author	Sara Hoagland Hunter
ISBN	0873586387

This is a wonderful tale that explains the legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers, but in a way that is conversational and easy to understand for children. The story is told as part of a conversation between and grandfather (who was a code talker) and his grandson. While the back story is not entirely necessary,...

Author	Ellen Raskin
ISBN	0689713355

Illustrated by the author. Excellent use of color throughout including bold, bright illustrations. An absolutely hilarious (although in a subtle way) tale from the perspective of a very boring, pessimistic boy who claims that nothing ever happens on his block when in fact SO MANY exciting and outlandish...