A Sweet Same-Sex Crush in New but Problematic Picture Book

What might be the last LGBTQ-inclusive picture book to be published in 2020, about two young boys in love, would be an absolute joy—except that the images of Asian and disabled characters are racist and ableist, respectively, and depictions of women and Jews feel poorly thought out.

“’Archie loves Zack!’ ‘Zack loves Archie!’ Everyone said it was so,” begins From Archie to Zack, by Vincent X. Kirsch (Abrams). Despite everyone’s knowing and accepting, however, neither Archie nor Zack feels like they can say this to each other. Their hesitancy is never explained, though it’s clear that it’s not because of bias, but simply the uncertainty of knowing whether one’s feelings are reciprocated. As the story unfolds, we see the two boys having adventures together as Archie pens note after note telling Zack that he loves him—but then feels like “something’s missing” and hides the note before giving it to him.

Three girls in their class find the notes, however, and, knowing who they’re for, give them to Zack as their school prepares for the holidays. It’s clear from the text and illustrations that this was done with good intentions and the girls are trying to help them express their feelings for each other. Nevertheless, on another level it’s intrusive and it’s outing Archie, so adults may want to discuss with children when this sort of sharing isn’t appropriate. Nevertheless, “Reading [the notes] made Zack very happy.”

Zack, in fact, has wanted to share a similar note with Archie for a long time. In the end, the boys express their feelings for each other and are shown smiling in the midst of their classmates at the holiday pageant.

Kirsch, who also illustrated the book, keeps the images bright and cheery, and gives the characters big, expressive faces. Archie is White; Zack is Black, and their classmates are a range of racial and ethnic identities. Kirsch could have done much better drawing the Asian characters’ eyes, however; they feel like an exaggerated stereotype, either open and slanted at 45 degrees, or squinting. This is not the type of “inclusive” imagery we should condone. Additionally, the character in a wheelchair is shown twice, but both times at the edge of the page, which feels marginalizing. Not only that, but the presumably girl characters are always shown in dresses or skirts (except for one scene in which they are in a marching band), and the presumably boy characters are in pants. (Thanks to this Twitter thread for raising some of these issues.) [Update, June 2021: It appears that a reprinting has changed the problematic eyes so that all of the characters now have nearly identical round eyes. That only serves to erase the Asian characters and is not a solution.]

The holiday pageant includes Christmas, Hanukkah, and general winter themes. On a final spread, we see vignettes of Archie and Zack both carrying a Christmas tree and standing behind a menorah. Zack is holding a candle, as if to light the menorah, but the shamash (helper) candle that is actually used to do so remains in the menorah (and the rest of the menorah is full), another cultural error in the book. If Zack is Jewish, however, and not just helping Archie, this is a rare (if wrongly drawn) picture book representation of a Jew of color (here are some others), though it’s incidental to this tale.

There are some things to like about this book in that it gives us a positive story of two boys in love. Contrast Thomas Scotto’s Jerome By Heart, where the protagonist Raphael’s parents disapprove of his love for Jerome. Yes, unfortunately Jerome by Heart still has an element of truth in it for many young queer people, and its portrayal of Raphael’s strength in the face of his parents’ opposition offers an important model for young readers. At the same time, I think it’s critical for more LGBTQ-inclusive stories—about LGBTQ kids, kids with LGBTQ parents, or combinations thereof—to be simply fun stories that don’t “problematize” LGBTQ identities. Archie and Zack’s “problem” is that of any two people trying to assess whether the other loves them back. In that, From Archie to Zack reminds me a bit of When We Love Someone We Sing to Them/Cuando Amamos Cantamos, Ernesto Javier Martí­nez’s 2018 book with a similar (but far from identical) story of a boy figuring out how to express his feelings for another. It’s a shame the stereotyped depiction of the Asian and disabled characters in From Archie to Zack detracts from what would otherwise be a sweet tale.