Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story

Considine, Kaitlyn. Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story. Philadelphia: Xlibris Publications, 2003.

Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story is about a young girl, Emma, who likes to take care of and play with her cat, Meesha My Boy. When Emma starts playing inappropriately with the cat, such as trying to paint it brown, her two mothers, Mommy and Mama, take turns telling her to stop. When she is nice to the cat both mothers praise her and give her advice as to how to take care of her pet.

The book is written for young children and is appealing for beginning readers due to its large font and cartoon illustrations. The text also has a rhyming scheme that makes it fun and interesting to read. Children reading the story may be able to relate to Emma and she learns how to care for her pet appropriately.

This book does not touch on issues of homosexuality at all beyond stating that Emma has two mothers. Mommy and Mama play a very small role in the story as the plot mainly explains the misadventures of Emma and Meesha My Boy as she learns how to take care of her pet. The book represents both mothers as a central part of Emma’s life and each seem to play an equal role in disciplining Emma as well as praising her good deeds. Mommy and Mama are a part of the backdrop to the story and their sexual orientation does not affect the story either positively or negatively. Although the book is attractive for young readers, I do not believe that it should not be considered a quality piece of GLBTQ literature since Meesha’s mothers’ sexual orientation was not central to the story. The child friendly text and illustrations can, however, make the book useful for teaching young children the importance of caring for their pets and can be used to start a discussion about non-traditional families that goes beyond the content of the book itself.

Daddy's Roommate

Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s Roommate. California: Alyson Publications, 1990.

Daddy’s Roommate is a story told by a young boy about his father and his new “roommate.” The narrator tells about how his dad lives with Frank and describes the kind of things that they do together: work together, eat together, sleep together, etc. The boy also tells about the things that he does with his dad and Frank when he sees them on weekends: going shopping, going to the beach, going to ball games, etc. The character is happy when he spends time with his dad and Frank.

Daddy’s Roommate quickly became one of the most challenged and banned books in the decade between 1990 and 2000. It is known as one of the first children’s book to portray homosexuality in a positive light. It is praised for showing a real-world depiction of homosexual relationships as a compliment to the more traditional mom-and-dad model. However, it is criticized for showing the relationship as completely untroubled – which makes the story more unbelievable.

This book is appealing for young readers as the text consists of short phrases on each page. Every page tells about something that the character enjoys doing with his day and includes a realistic cartoon illustration containing vibrant colors that attracts the reader's attention. Since the phrases on each page are so short, the illustrations help to tell the story.

Daddy’s Roommate portrays the life of a homosexual couple in ways similar to what one might expect from a more commonly depicted heterosexual couple. The character’s mother explains that his dad and Frank are gay and that “being gay is just one more kind of love, and love is the best kind of happiness.” It excludes any discrepancy that may exist due to his father’s homosexual relationship, both from outside society as well as between his mother and father. The book does a good job depicting that life with a parent who is homosexual is just like the “average” person’s experience.

King and King

Haan, Linda and Stern Nijland. King and King. Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2000.

King and King is a book about a prince who is ordered by his mother, the queen, to find someone to marry so he could become king. The prince is dissatisfied with all the princesses that who arrive at the castle hoping to be chosen to be his wife. It wasn’t until a princess arrived with her brother, Prince Lee, that the prince fell in love. However, he did not wish for the princess; he instead wanted to marry the Prince Lee. The two were wed and became known as “King and King.” There is a sequel to the book entitled King and King and Family which follows the two kings on their honeymoon, where they find a orphaned girl and decide to raise her as a princess.

The text and illustrations in King and King are interesting and attractive for young readers. The text is not written in straight lines and plain font; instead, it is curved around the page and uses different fonts and sizes throughout the book. The illustrations are cartoons but are somewhat abstract. The “messy” fashion of the illustrations truly draws attention to the pictures as the story is read.

King and King has been challenged in many schools and libraries. The most notable confrontation against the book was in 2006 when a lawsuit was filed against an elementary school that contained the book in its library. The lawsuit claimed that the book constituted sexual education without parental consent and that young children were presented with a positive view of homosexuality, which may not be the beliefs of the students’ families. Luckily, the judge dismissed the case and celebrated the book for its depiction of diversity within our society.

King and King told an interesting spoof of more commonly known fairy tales as the prince searches for his soul mate in order to take the throne. The book never calls the prince “gay” and does not reveal any hesitation or disappointment from others when he decides to marry another male instead of the females that are brought to the castle. The book ends by saying that “everyone lives happily ever after” as the two kings enjoy their life together. Although the narrative is rather simplistic, the story captures the idea that it is okay to go against other’s expectations (i.e. the prince marrying a woman) if what you choose to do remains true to yourself.

Molly's Family

Garden, Nancy. Molly’s Family. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004.

Molly’s Family is a story about a kindergartener who is preparing for Open School night with her classmates. She draws a picture of her family, which consists of her Mommy, her Mama Lu, and her puppy Sam. When one of her classmates saw her drawing he told her that she couldn’t have two mommies. Molly’s classmates started discussing their families – one student just had a daddy, another had a grandma, a mommy, a daddy, and two brothers – but no one else had two mommies. Molly went home and talked with her Mommy and Mama Lu and they explained that there were many different kinds of families and that not everyone’s family looked the same. For back to school night Molly brought her picture to school and hung it on the wall for everyone to see.

Although this story would be appropriate and enjoyable for young children, the format of the book makes it a better read aloud for beginning readers. Each page contains a paragraph of the story and the text is written in small font and includes a lot of dialogue. Young children would benefit from listening to the story while looking at the beautiful illustrations with soothing pastel colors.

This book did a good job depicting the kind of conflict and confusion that may occur in a school setting when a student has same-sex parents. The words “lesbian” and “homosexual” were not used in the book directly as the book’s message is not stated overtly; Molly’s parents’ homosexuality was implied through the text. The story seemed very realistic as the main character struggled to identify her family as “normal.” Molly’s classmates didn’t understand how she could have two mothers since they were never exposed to a family like hers. The book’s main message was that there are many different kinds of families, and all should be considered equally important and valid. The book serves as a great resource for students to look at who are questioning their own family identity and face ridicule from those outside their family who do not take the time to understand their differences.

And Tango Makes Three

Parnell, Peter and Justin Richardson. And Tango Makes Three. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005.

And Tango Makes Three is a book based on a true story about two male penguins that fall in love in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Roy and Silo do everything together and act similarly to couples consisting of a male and a female. Before long, Roy and Silo realized that the other couples could do something they couldn’t – the female penguin would lay and egg then the male and female would take turns sitting on the egg to keep it warm until it hatched. Seeing their disappointment in their inability to start a family, the man who took care of the penguins gave them an egg that needed to be cared for. The egg hatched and the baby penguin was cared for and loved by her two dads.

And Tango Makes Three has been nominated and granted several awards on the national level. It was named a “Notable Children’s Book” in 2006 by the American Library Association; named “Book of the Year” by the Nick Jr. Family Magazine; and was also a finalist for the 2006 Lambda Literary Award – a reward reserved specifically for books categorized at GLBTQ. Unfortunately, a high amount of controversy has been coupled with the awards that the book has won. The American Library Association named And Tango Makes Three to be the most controversial book of 2006. Numerous libraries and parents have fought to remove the book from children’s sections of libraries and the book has also been threatened to be banned completely due to its perceived promotion of homosexuality.

Young children may have a difficult time reading the text of this book on their own so it might be beneficial to read the book aloud to young readers as they look at the accompanying illustrations. The illustrations include realistic drawings of penguins in their habitat at the zoo and follow the story very well. The illustrations are an asset to the book and make the story more enjoyable.

Throughout the book, authors Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson never use the terms “gay” or “homosexual” when describing the lifestyles of Roy and Silo. Instead, they emphasize the fact that the penguins are “just like the other penguins” – a phrase that is repeated numerous times throughout the book. The story makes the point clear that the two characters can lead a happy life with one another. The book does not discuss how homosexual relationships may be difficult for some to understand or appreciate. Towards the end of the book the authors state that, “… And all the children who came to the zoo could see Tango and her two fathers playing in the penguin house with the other penguins.” This statement seems to demonstrate the author’s point that even though Roy and Silo may have been different than the other penguins, there was no reason for them to be singled out or treated differently due to their orientation. The authors successfully convey this message without being “preachy,” which makes the story more likely to be read by a variety of people.

Transgender Issues

I have been following the news story recently about the pregnant man. Thomas Beattie is a former woman who legally changed his gender from female to male but decided to keep his female sex organs in case he ever decided he wanted to conceive a child. Thomas is married to a woman and the couple decided they wanted him to become pregnant via artifical insemination. Thomas has been all over the news and was interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show where, I believe, she asked the most important question there is - "Do you think that the world is ready for this?"

By reading Oprah's message boards, it appears that the answer is no, the world is not ready to accept Thomas and his child, which is the disgusting truth about the society we live in. One post stated that "Thomas was born a female, and genetically will always be female." Another replied by saying, "I'm pregnant so if I say I'm a cat does that mean tha I'll get to be on Oprah?" Yet another responded by saying, "Obviously this is a transgendered person who is pregnant, not a 'man'." A parent stated that "Now I'm trying to explain this to my 6 year old son who heard this on a commercial."

I am happy that Oprah decided to invite Thomas to be on her show. Not only is it an interesting story that deserves to be discussed in a respected setting, it addressed an issue that is so hushed within our society. It makes me sick that Oprah's message board filled so quickly with hate messages and that the episode did not help people to understand people like Thomas. Thomas IS a transgendered person, but he IS a man. He stated that, "being pregnant does not make me feel any more female or feminine ... I'm a man, I just happen to be a pregnant man."

If nothing else, the story of Thomas Beattie shows how far our world has to go. It proves even more how important it is for information and resourced to be available so people can become educated about the diverse society in which we live.

Choice for Final Project - GLBTQ literature

When deciding what option to choose for my final project I was really interesting in finding a topic that I have had very little exposure to. GLBTQ literature was a perfect choice that matched that goal. Throughout my entire education, including college, I have not read a single GLBTQ book and have never even heard of any books that existed concerning this topic. Because of this, I decided to complete my project by researching and reading GLBTQ books.

I started the project by searching on-line and was happy to see that there was a large variety of books available that were considered to include aspects of the GLBTQ culture. I wasn't sure if these books would be found easily at my local library, but was pleased when I was able to check out all of the books on my list. (Although I have mixed feelings that none of these books were checked out by others). When I came home from my first trip to the library I skimmed through the books I had checked out and realized that all eight of them were about homosexual males and none about lesbian females, bisexuals, or transgendered. I still wonder if this was merely coincidence or if there are more books published about gay males. I made a second trip to the library and searched specifically for GLBTQ books that were not about homosexual males. I found two books specifically about lesbian mothers, and two that included many illustrations of a variety of characters who would identify as GLBTQ.

While reading through the books I find that most seem to accurately depict those within the GLBTQ community without including stereotypes or other negative portrayals. As a future teacher, I am interested in obtaining my own personal copies of some of the books to keep in my classroom library. I feel like a hypocrite, but I am afraid to make such books available for my students. I know that some parents will be very upset that their children are exposed to such literature. This fear will not stop me from including a vast array of multicultural literature in my classroom because I feel it is absolutely necessary for children to be exposed to all cultures, not just those that are familiar to them. Literature is a window for students to look through as they learn about various cultures. In addition, there will no doubt be at least one student in my class with a GLBTQ parent, family member, friend, or is GLBTQ themselves, and it is important that they see that those within that culture are represented and validated through literature as well.

This project serves as a great resource for me to become exposed to a type of literature that I have previously not had the opportunity of exploring. By reading a variety of GLBTQ literature while preparing for the project, I have learned a lot about how these books can be incorporated into a classroom setting.