Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Publisher: Vanita Books
Rating: WORTHY!
DISCLOSURE: Unlike the majority of reviews in this blog, I've neither bought this book nor borrowed it from the library. This is a "galley" copy ebook, supplied by Net Galley. I'm not receiving (nor will I expect to receive or accept) remuneration for this review. The chance to read a new book is often enough reward aplenty!
Illustrated by Kristin Blackwood (no website found) and Mike Blanc.
This review is pretty much the same as the one I wrote for A Tale of Two Mommies, but it's different because the two books are not the same. They do cover similar ground, however.
I didn't know who she was a couple of days ago, but I'm rapidly becoming a big fan of author Vanita Oelschlager. She has written many books, but the ones I'll talk about today are aimed at children specifically those aged four to eight years, which is a bit outside the range of my own kids, but no so far away that I don't remember them well at those ages.
The stories are all short and they're aimed at teaching. The lesson may be dealing with a personal problem, or a problem in the family and following the story may help a child see a way through their own dilemma with the help of mom or dad, or a guardian or close relative - whoever is willing to pitch in. The net profit from these books goes straight to a deserving charity, not into an author's pocket, which is an amazingly generous thing to do.
This particular story is becoming more and more important in the US as the nation slowly catches up with the rest of the civilized world and finally starts treating gay couples just ads they've treated hetero couples. The only problem here is that there aren't many of them, so a kid who has two parents of the same gender may well feel a little unusual when friends start talking about mommy and daddy.
It's a serious and important issue, but this book doesn't get bogged down by being grim and preachy. It takes an almost breathless approach, with colorful and very active illustrations to the kinds of questions which other kids might have, and the style and pace is a perfect fit to how incredibly energetic young kids are. You know, if you can invent a way to tap some of that childhood energy and re-distribute it to parents and other older folk, you'll be a guaranteed billionaire and a hero to parents everywhere.
So in this book, a young girl (whose name isn't revealed) has two dads, and a kid is bugging her something chronic with question after question about who does what if they're both guys. The charming girl answers with poise and equanimity and answers with neither hesitation nor exaggeration. And her answers are smart and make sense. This isn't rocket science! It's parenting. Parents have different skills and behaviors regardless of what gender they are. It;s no big deal as long as we deal with it like adults! I recommend this book regardless of whether parents are gay, hetero, single, plural or guardians. It's all good as long as it's love.
