A girl helps her parents, younger brother, and her Uncle Ron’s partner Michael and other friends make an AIDS Quilt panel in honor of Uncle Ron, who died from complications of AIDS. As they sew, they reminisce about all of the fun times they had with Ron—and they remember that Ron would have wanted them to keep dancing.
Ron is not explicitly gay or queer in this 1999 book, but there is a mention of “Uncle Ron and Michael’s refrigerator,” a coy way of noting that they lived together. There is an equally coy hint that the children’s grandfather was homophobic; he is not helping them with the quilt panel, and the grandmother says that’s because he doesn’t know how to sew. The book notes, however, that “Grandpa hadn’t come after Uncle Ron’s memorial service either,” giving a strong implication that he is avoiding anything to do with Ron’s death. Grown-up readers might use this as a jumping-off point for further discussion of homophobia, should young readers inquire.
The book is clearly a product of its time (and feels a little wordy by modern picture-book standards, too), but is warm and full of love, focusing on the joy that Ron brought to his family and friends.
