Felicia's Favourite Story. Written by Lesléa Newman, Illustrated by Adriana Romo. This is the story of a little girl with two mothers. She asks her mothers to tell her a bedtime story. What results is a sweet adoption story. The fact that her parents are lesbian isn't as much of a factor as the fact that she is adopted. The parents could have been hetero or homosexual and the story would have been the same. The illustrations are soft coloured pencil drawings and compliment the story well, including little hidden gems in the borders. Another classic by the author of Heather Has Two Mommies.
Gloria Goes To Gay Pride. Written by Lesléa Newman, Illustrated by Russell Crocker. This book tells the story of a little girl with two mothers. It begins by talking about her everyday life and things she does with her mothers (including celebrate Hanukkah) and then she talks about going to a Gay Pride Day parade and all the people she meets and things she does. The story is wonderfully sweet, that of a little girl that doesn't know anything other than her life. It's slightly pedantic, but not overly so and the pure joy of Gloria overrides any negative that could bring. The black and white illustrations don't fit with the story at all. On top of them being dated, it's a story that should be told in colour. But even this doesn't take away from the charm of this book.
ABC: A Family Alphabet Book. Written by Bobbie Combs, Illustrated by Desiree Keane and Brian Rappa. With word (and sentence) for every letter, this book goes through the alphabet telling bits of these young children's lives. The children happen to have two mothers or two fathers, but that isn't the focus of the book. Another book that has no need to teach about how all families are different, but yet one that children of a gay couple can see themselves in your garden variety alphabet book. The illustrations are bright and colourful, with lots to look at on each page. They give even more dimension to an already charming book.
10,000 Dresses. Written by Marcus Ewert, Illustrated by Rex Ray. This book tells the story of Bailey. She (as she is referred to throughout the book) was born a boy, but she has dreams about beautiful dresses that she longs to wear. When she tells friends and family that she wants dresses, she's told curly that boys don't wear dresses and she should never mention it again. In the end, though, she meets a dress designer that does make the dresses for her. The first book I've seen directed towards transgendered children, this one is wonderfully done. Where they previously thought they were alone, they can see themselves in Bailey's struggles, and find themselves with the same happy ending with an accepting friend. The very colourful cut-out style illustrations fit perfectly with the story. A wonderful book that fills a very important need.
No Girls Allowed. Written by Susan Hughes, Illustrated by Willow Dawson. This comic book tells the story of seven women through history that have dressed (and sometimes lived) as men in order to do things that women were not allowed to do. In my library system this book was labeled with a "transgendered" tag, but that is far from the truth, though worth mentioning here to illustrate a point. The women in this book felt as if they were women, but did what they needed to to become doctors or soldiers in a time when women were not allowed to do these things. They were not transgendered whatsoever. They didn't want to become men, they didn't feel as if they were men, they were dressing in another way to achieve their goals. This brings up the sad point that people don't know the meaning of the word, children as well as adults. Wearing men's clothes does not make someone transgendered. This tag on this book is much more detrimental than helpful for the trans community.
08 September 2009
01 September 2009
Picture Books III
Heather Has Two Mommies. Written by Lesléa Newman, Illustrated by Diana Souza. This book tells the story of a little girl and her two mothers. While at school, the idea of 'daddy' is brought up to her, which prompts her (very smart!) teacher to instruct the kids to talk about their families, which are all different. The book has passed it's 10th anniversary and it's still as contemporary and relevant as it was when it was written. The black and white illustrations (including those done by the kids) fit in perfectly with the story. It's a classic with good reason.
Molly's Family. Written by Nancy Garden, Illustrated by Sharon Wooding. This is the story of a little girl with two mothers. Very similar to Heather Has Two Mommies, she draws a picture of her two mothers and then it falls to the teacher to tell the classroom that indeed a child can have two mothers and look at all the different types of families in their classroom. The coloured pencil illustrations are lovely and fit in very well with the story. Though the plot is very similar to Heather's story, the charming illustrations make it a worthwhile read.
Daddy, Papa And Me. Written by Andrew R Aldrich, Illustrated by Mike Motz. This tells the story of a boy that is adopted by two men. The child is black and the parents are white, but that isn't ever mentioned in the text. The story mentions that the child's mother was "too sick" to care for him, and does talk a little about what parents deal with when they want to adopt, but never mentions anything unusual about the fact that his parents are gay, though it is noted that he does have female influence in his life, in case anyone is worried. The story is sweet, and the text is short enough for a young child. The illustrations are exaggerated comic book style, something not often seen in picture books. Though the story is brief, and ends on a slightly pedantic note, it's still very sweet.
Uncle What-Is-It Is Coming To Visit! Written and illustrated by Michael Willhoite. This is the story of a brother and sister who are told their uncle (that they've never met) is coming to visit and he's gay. They don't know what this means, but are told about two different stereotypes by the neighbourhood teens. One says that they're all transvestites and the other says they're all into leather. When they finally do meet their uncle, he is neither of these things and goes on to explain that gay men are just men that love other men, though some do fit those stereotypes. The cartoonish illustrations fit in very well with the text very well. The story is best for an older child, considering the themes and the length, but the message is an important one at any age and this story tells it well.
The Different Dragon. Written by Jennifer Bryan, Illustrated by Danamarie Hosler. This is the story of a little boy that meets a dragon. The whole of the tale is a bedtime story told by his mother featuring the young boy and his cat. It happens that the boys has two mothers, but that is not relevant to the story except that he has them. It's a wonderful background fact that he has two mothers, the story doesn't bother to 'teach' about that, but rather focuses on the boy meeting and befriending the dragon. The illustrations are colourful and very fitting to the text. This is one of the best books I've read for this age, for a child to see him or herself in the story without having to learn yet again that all families are different.
Molly's Family. Written by Nancy Garden, Illustrated by Sharon Wooding. This is the story of a little girl with two mothers. Very similar to Heather Has Two Mommies, she draws a picture of her two mothers and then it falls to the teacher to tell the classroom that indeed a child can have two mothers and look at all the different types of families in their classroom. The coloured pencil illustrations are lovely and fit in very well with the story. Though the plot is very similar to Heather's story, the charming illustrations make it a worthwhile read.
Daddy, Papa And Me. Written by Andrew R Aldrich, Illustrated by Mike Motz. This tells the story of a boy that is adopted by two men. The child is black and the parents are white, but that isn't ever mentioned in the text. The story mentions that the child's mother was "too sick" to care for him, and does talk a little about what parents deal with when they want to adopt, but never mentions anything unusual about the fact that his parents are gay, though it is noted that he does have female influence in his life, in case anyone is worried. The story is sweet, and the text is short enough for a young child. The illustrations are exaggerated comic book style, something not often seen in picture books. Though the story is brief, and ends on a slightly pedantic note, it's still very sweet.
Uncle What-Is-It Is Coming To Visit! Written and illustrated by Michael Willhoite. This is the story of a brother and sister who are told their uncle (that they've never met) is coming to visit and he's gay. They don't know what this means, but are told about two different stereotypes by the neighbourhood teens. One says that they're all transvestites and the other says they're all into leather. When they finally do meet their uncle, he is neither of these things and goes on to explain that gay men are just men that love other men, though some do fit those stereotypes. The cartoonish illustrations fit in very well with the text very well. The story is best for an older child, considering the themes and the length, but the message is an important one at any age and this story tells it well.
The Different Dragon. Written by Jennifer Bryan, Illustrated by Danamarie Hosler. This is the story of a little boy that meets a dragon. The whole of the tale is a bedtime story told by his mother featuring the young boy and his cat. It happens that the boys has two mothers, but that is not relevant to the story except that he has them. It's a wonderful background fact that he has two mothers, the story doesn't bother to 'teach' about that, but rather focuses on the boy meeting and befriending the dragon. The illustrations are colourful and very fitting to the text. This is one of the best books I've read for this age, for a child to see him or herself in the story without having to learn yet again that all families are different.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
