A new children’s video puts a new spin on fairytale tropes to give us a heroine who has smarts—and a girlfriend. And The Fosters’ Teri Polo gives her a voice.
When author Daniel Errico wrote The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived, his 2014 video about a knight and a prince falling in love, my only complaint was that we then had two picture books about a prince (or knight) marrying a prince (King & King being the other), and that someone should write one with a princess marrying a princess. Now, the number of same-sex prince romances has gone up even further—but Errico has just released Rosaline, a new fairytale about a girl who has a female sweetheart.
Actor Teri Polo, who plays lesbian mom Stef on Freeform’s The Fosters, gives voice to the character in the video. Farmer Rosaline encounters and outwits both a witch with a poisoned apple and a big bad wolf, showing poise and resourcefulness. When her fairy godmother comes to reward her, however, Rosaline demurs. She doesn’t want to get dressed up and meet a prince. Instead, she insists she doesn’t need another’s magic, and continues on her way to her beloved’s house.
The story wraps up then, leaving me wanting to know more about the girlfriend and the two girls’ relationship. How did they meet? Is the girlfriend a farmer, too? Will they eventually marry? Maybe that’s all for a sequel.
The girlfriend’s skin is darker than Rosaline’s pale shade, which seems like a nod to racial diversity (or at least skin-tone diversity)—but let’s hope we soon see more LGBTQ-inclusive picture books with protagonists (not just secondary characters) of color. (There have been a few, but not many.)
Nevertheless, Rosaline is a lighthearted tale with an empowered female lead and a rare female romance (however briefly shown). That’s the kind of representation we need more of.
Watch it here (use this link if the embedded version below isn’t loading for you) or get it as a Kindle e-book
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