[Update: Sunday, 9/14, 11:30 a.m. Eastern: Michael Willhoite, author of Daddy’s Roommate (discussed below), has responded in the Huffington Post to Palin’s actions.] I’ve been quiet so far on the issue of Sarah Palin and the possibility that she tried to censor books in the Wasilla, Alaska Public Library. As far as I can tell,
Maurice Sendak, author of beloved children’s classics such as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, has just come out. He revealed this in an interview with the New York Times in honor of his 80th birthday, which will be celebrated Monday by a benefit in Manhattan. Sendak has kept his sexuality
A reader just wrote to ask me if I knew of any LGBT-inclusive children’s books in Spanish, especially for the very youngest tots. She knew of Antonio’s Card/La Tarjeta de Antonio, by Rigoberto Gonzalez and Cecilia Alvarez, but felt that was a little beyond the age of her own child. I’ll add the bilingual English/Spanish
A few weeks ago I reported on the first challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a children’s book featuring two gay guinea pigs who marry. Today, library director James LaRue, who wrote a sensitive, balanced response to the initial challenge, reports that a second patron has challenged the book and asked for its removal from the
(Originally published in Bay Windows, June 26, 2008, with minor variation.) Two new works and one re-release share the real and fictionalized stories of teens with LGBT parents, shining a light on this often-overlooked part of our community. Tru Loved, now making the rounds at LGBT film festivals, features an all-star cast including Jasmine Guy,
A few items from recent news: Which state has the highest percentage of LGBT couples with children? Mississippi, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, and reported by The Daily Mississippian. (Thanks to the Family Equality Council for the link.) The state also has the highest percentage of African American same-sex couples. The Census data does
I wrote this a few months ago (with slight modification) for Vanessa Van Petten’s Teens Today blog. She had asked me to share some resources for her audience of mostly straight parents who want to talk with their teenagers, LGBT and not, about LGBT issues. I realize most of my readers at Mombian are more
The Grossmont Union High School District in California voted 4-0 yesterday in support of Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that would ban marriage of same-sex couples in California. It is believed to be the first public school board in the state to do so. The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that some supporters of the
A patron at Douglas County Libraries in Colorado has submitted the first known challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, a children’s book by Massachusetts author Sarah Brannen that features two gay guinea pigs. In an e-mail to library director James LaRue on June 26, Parker, Colo., resident Anita Gohde formally asked that the book be removed
Helen and I bring news of a challenge to Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, the children’s book about gay guinea pigs (see SGMP 18 and 22), and a librarian’s thoughtful response. We also continue our discussion from last week about kids and homophobia, and talk about how to prepare our children, educate educators, and find allies. Online
