(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column. Stay tuned for tomorrow when I’ll share Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s answers to a few questions about their new book. Click image to enlarge.) The authors of two of the most famous LGBT children’s books have two new books out this month. Neither work has an overt
Author Lauren Myracle’s young adult series ttyl has topped the American Library Association’s (ALA) Top Ten list of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009. A “challenge” is a formal, written complaint to a library or school, “requesting that materials be removed or restricted because of content or appropriateness.” Ttyl gives us a look at
I have a special guest this week while Helen is away on a business trip— our six-year-old son. He offers his thoughts on one of his favorite books of the moment, Redwoods, by Jason Chin. It’s not LGBT-related at all, but it’s delightful, and our son likes it, which is reason enough for me to
April is National Poetry Month, for no reason I can discern except that this glorious weather seems a perfect inspiration for writing poems. The Academy of American Poets site has everything you’d ever want to know about the celebration, but I’m going to share a couple of additional resources because we’re almost all parents and/or
Happy birthday to Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, who was born on this date in 1904. As those of you with children in elementary school likely know, today is also Read Across America Day, an an annual reading motivation and awareness program run by the National Education Association (NEA). I feel obliged to point
I was delighted to discover the new(-ish) blog GLBT Reading, home of the GLBT Challenge 2010. The goal of the site is to encourage people to read books about GLBT topics and/or by GLBT authors. To participate in the Challenge, simply read relevant books (or short stories, poems, or essays), post reviews on your blog,
What does Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir have to do with gay guinea pigs? The talented Sarah Brannen, author and illustrator of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, the much-challenged children’s book about two male guinea pigs who marry, made a name for herself with photographs and watercolors of ice skaters long before she turned to furry rodents.
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) The American Library Association’s Rainbow Project has just published its third annual Rainbow Bibliography, a list of recommended, LGBT-inclusive books for readers under age 18. Nel Ward, head of the Rainbow Project, says one of the biggest problems librarians have with including LGBT-inclusive books in their collections is
The North Kansas City Schools Board of Education recently voted 3 to 2 to keep And Tango Makes Three on the shelves at Bell Prairie Elementary School, despite a parent’s request that the book be removed, reports School Library Journal. I’m annoyed every time a children’s book with LGBT content is challenged, but I’m especially
The 2010 Rainbow Project Bibliography is out! The Bibliography is a list of recommended titles for youth from birth to age 18 that contain “significant and authentic” GLBTQ content. The titles are chosen by the GLBT Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. This is not a list of
