I didn't intend to do a little roundup; it just sort of evolved on its own. It all began with a visit to the
Northshire Bookstore in Manchester VT. One of several timely displays in the children's book area caught my eye -- weddings. There among
Miss Spider's Wedding,
Frog Bride, and
Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl was a copy of
Uncle Bobbie's Wedding by
Sarah Brannen. Yea!!! I love Vermont! This is just what I like to see -- being a part of and not singled out as different or an issue. (An aside -- wearing her
Two Lives Publishing hat, Bobbie recently presented at SCBWI New England where Sarah was also a faculty presenter and at the New Jersey Library Association Conference they both presented on a panel about LGBT publishing for children. They were quite a team.)
Elizabeth Bluemle did a fine post about new titles for young children with LGBT parents
on Shelftalker. (Another aside -- during our recent stay in Vermont, we planned to visit the
Flying Pig Bookstore on our drive to Burlington but it was closed for Mother's Day.)
Elizabeth reviewed
Mommy, Mama and Me and
Daddy, Papa and Me, two delightful board books with two moms and two dads families written by Leslea Newman. Those titles are also the
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Book of the Week.
I received an update about HRC Family Project’s
Welcoming Schools program. You can
download An Introduction to Welcoming Schools,a primer version of the
Welcoming Schools Guide, a guide designed for use in elementary schools with tools, resources and lessons on family diversity, name-calling and gender stereotyping. Included is a list of LGBT-inclusive children’s books.
Last week I worked on some reviews for the
Philadelphia Family Pride Newsletter. One of the titles I reviewed was
10,000 Dresses, a title I learned about from in-the-know
Fuse #8. Thanks Betsy! Sorry I couldn't find the post to make a direct link
Here's my review:
10, 000 DressesWritten by Marcus Ewert and Illustrated by Rex Ray
Seven Stories Press, 2008
Hardcover, $14.95
Ages 4-7
.
This is the first picture book we know of with a transgender child as the main character. While some reactions might be “Whoa! Why a trans book for so young?” we’ve heard that there is a need – kids can and do identify with gender at young ages.
Bailey happily dreams of dresses every night – gorgeous, original dresses made of “crystals that flashed rainbows in the sun,” “lilies and roses with honeysuckle sleeves,” and “windows which showed the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids.” But when she tries to tell her parents about the dreams and her desire to own dresses like the ones she dreams about, their negative reaction fills her with despair. “You’re a boy. Boys don’t wear dresses! . . . don’t mention dresses again!” Luckily Bailey meets Laurel who thinks Bailey’s designs are “awesome” and together they make beautiful dresses for themselves. Laurel’s understanding and acceptance of Bailey are a huge gift to her, as this empowering book will be for many children. Artist and graphic designer Rex Ray’s paper collages provide a colorful, retro-futuristic backdrop for Bailey’s story.
The analogy of a window and mirror is often used when talking about diversity in children’s books – the books provide both a mirror for self- recognition and a window to viewing the world outside. The author’s use of dresses made of mirrors and windows may be coincidence but It’s a nice touch.
Today we’re blogging for a specific purpose; we’re participating in the Blogging for LGBT Families Day, hosted by Mombian on June 1, 2009. And so, We Love Children’s Books fades to background and our sister company, Two Lives Publishing, comes front and center. At Two Lives, it’s all about books for kids in LGBT-headed families, and in addition to publishing, we also distribute titles in our niche. We’re not the only ones publishing these books, as our distribution attests – there are successful self-published and small publisher works out there and some large, mainstream publishers have put out books with an impact, like And Tango Makes Three. But, oh, we wish there were MORE! Our first titles (123: a Family Counting Book and ABC: a Family Alphabet Book were published 10 years ago and today, there’s still just a handful, and those books only begin to tell our families’ many and varied stories. 
