Flamingo Rampant micropress is getting ready to launch its third season of “feminist, racially diverse, LGBTQ positive children’s books”! I’ve always loved their joyous approach to inclusivity, and their next set of books looks sure to continue that tradition.
Founders (and queer parents) S. Bear Bergman and j wallace skelton have just launched a Kickstarter to fund this third season, which has the theme of “Discovery.” Bear was kind enough to explain to me in an e-mail:
As with all our previous series, the 2019 Discovery series focuses on kids and families who are well and loved and get to have fun and solve problems and enjoy adventures. This year we’re including some new topics as always—a book featuring kids with divorced parents who move between households (as so many kids do), a book featuring a gay older brother, a kid who experiences high anxiety and figures out how to calm himself (with a little help from his friends), kids whose mobility aids don’t stop them from making something that’s not just useful but also beautiful, and poems short enough for kids to memorize, written to help then find their courage in hard moments, and so much more. At Flamingo Rampant, we’re always looking for ways to show kids, families and communities in a spirit of celebration and justice—these new books might be our best yet!
Additionally, they’re bringing back the first two Flamingo Rampant books by Bear, The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy and Backwards Day, “updated with fewer words, a more manageable size, a more accessible font and brilliant surprises in the illustrations.” The wordiness was one of my few complaints when I first reviewed them; I’m looking forward to the new and improved editions.
I reviewed the first full set of Flamingo Rampant books in my 2015 Holiday Gift Guide (still appropriate for 2018!) and the second set here. They offer stories that show the intersectionalities of our lives and the traditions we are part of, even as we make our own traditions as LGBTQ families. They give us varied tales that will appeal to children’s—and grown-ups’—imaginations. As they explain on their Kickstarter page:
When traditional publishing produced mostly difficult stories of harassment or bullying and insipid books whose proud “message” was that gay parents aren’t necessarily bad, Flamingo Rampant went… a different way. We show LGBT2Q+ kids, families, and communities that are full of fun, celebration, adventure, shenanigans and lots of love.
They also stress that “Everything we make is made by LGBT2Q+ people.” That’s right—queer-made books with exciting story arcs as well as a spectrum of characters across sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and family structures!
Visit their Kickstarter page for the donation levels (starting at only $1) and rewards. They’ve set a goal to raise $81,000 by December 31, 2018, so let’s help them make that happen. I recognize that not everyone has the wherewith to make any kind of financial contribution, so if you do, consider buying an extra set to donate to a school, library, community center, congregation, or other organization. And if you don’t, please contribute by helping to spread the word!
If you’re not yet convinced (or even if you are), check out the video:
http://kck.st/2rhLFmt