Books This Is the Way to Handle This Sort of Thing
posted by August 6 at 11:00 AM
onOver at this librarian’s blog, which is unfortunately titled “My Liblog,” he recounts the story of a woman who protested a book called Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. This is a children’s book about a child who is afraid that her favorite Uncle Bobby, who is marrying another man, won’t have any time to spend with her after he gets married.
The librarian responded to her e-mail with a very long, very thoughtful e-mail that he then posted to his blog. I think that everyone who’s interested in fighting book censorship should read this letter. It’s exactly the way to confront people like this.
You feel that a book about gay marriage is inappropriate for young children. But another book in our collection, “Daddy’s Roommate,” was requested by a mother whose husband left her, and their young son, for another man. She was looking for a way to begin talking about this with son. Another book, “Alfie’s Home,” was purchased at the request of another mother looking for a way to talk about the suspected homosexuality of her young son from a Christian perspective. There are gay parents in Douglas County, right now, who also pay taxes, and also look for materials to support their views. We don’t have very many books on this topic, but we do have a handful.In short, most of the books we have are designed not to interfere with parents’ notions of how to raise their children, but to support them. But not every parent is looking for the same thing.
Seriously. Go read it.
(And a big thank you to Slog tipper Davida, who will hopefully still find time to Slog tip from Librarian School in New York City this fall.)
Comments
Librarian School?
Wow, the name of this book hits home. My gay brother Bob, who died in 1995, had been with his partner for 17 years. I now have a son who otherwise would have had an Uncle Bobby. From conversations with my brother I recall his ambivalence about the construct of marriage. But times changed and maybe he would have married. Hard to say. Mostly I'm sad my son won't know his Uncle Bobby.
Awesome letter. Perfect response.
What a great letter! Thanks for the tip.
I'm more concerned by the fact that Uncle Bobby, is in fact, a guinea pig.
Beautiful, moving letter. Thanks so much for the post.
Sad, this reminds me of my uncle Jonathan who died of AIDS when I was 5.
You mean to tell me gay people pay taxes too? Will wonders never cease?
A thoughtful letter. A good counter example to the commonly held view that the internet is abusive, so get used to it.
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