The follow-up (but standalone) book to the Stonewall Award-winning Grandad’s Camper is as warm and joyous as the first volume, with an added layer of community spirit. Young Milly is again visiting Grandad for the summer, this time with her parents. When she finds an old rainbow Pride flag in his attic, he explains, “Pride is like a giant party where we celebrate the wonderful diversity of our communities and demand that everyone should be treated with equality and respect—no matter who they love or what gender they are.”
When he and Gramps were younger, he explains, they used to go to lots of Pride parades—thoughtfully drawn in flashbacks with period-appropriate signage, like “Happy Christopher Street Day,” “ACT UP.” and “Same-sex marriage finally legal.”
Milly is excited by the idea of Pride, but Grandad says he’s too old for partying in the city. She suggests they celebrate in Grandad’s village instead. They share the idea with members of the community, and soon many people are volunteering their time and products. One two-woman couple makes flower arrangements; the library puts up a display; a gardener offers rainbow carrots. A baker (who uses they/them pronouns) makes a rainbow layer cake. Some of the neighbors are even doing a drag show!
There’s some last-minute tension when Grandad can’t be found but (without giving too much away), all ends up in happy celebration. The parade is full of neighbors, diverse in many ways, with Pride flags and signs reflecting numerous LGBTQ identities. There’s a shirtless trans man with chest surgery scars and several characters in gender creative outfits. There are parents and kids and a whole community coming together to “build a world where everyone is proud to be themselves.”
As with the first book, I’m still left with questions about whichever of Milly’s parents was Grandad and Gramps’ child. Did Grandad and Gramps ever take their child to Pride? The book doesn’t say. There is, however, a tantalizing picture on the wall in Grandad’s house of Grandad and Gramps holding a baby. Perhaps a future volume will give us the story of Grandad and Gramps becoming parents, part of an early number of out queer dads.
I also would have liked a short afterward if only to explain the baker’s statement, “Each color of the Pride flag has a special meaning and they’re all included in this cake!” (If you want to know the meanings of the colors, though, you can check out Pride Colors, We Are the Rainbow! The Colors of Pride, Our Rainbow, or Kevin Keller’s Favorite Colors.)
These are minor points, however, and do not take away from an enthusiastic recommendation of this sweet and lovely story about intergenerational wisdom and community spirit. Woodgate’s illustrations are again outstanding—vibrant and cheerful, with lots of little details for readers to discover.
Milly’s mother is White; her dad has medium-brown skin and straight brown hair; Milly has light brown skin and dark curly hair. Grandad is White and Gramps has brown skin and black hair. The community reflects numerous racial and ethnic identities.
