Fur Better or Worse: Gay Guinea Pigs Wed in New Children's Book
Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Massachusetts author and illustrator Sarah Brannen, is more than just a good LGBT-inclusive children’s book; it is a good children’s book, period. Like 2005’s And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins who hatch an egg together, it is likely to garner critical praise as well as ultra-right censorship. Uncle Bobby moves us from feathers to fur, however, and tells the sweet story of Chloe, an anthropomorphic young guinea pig who worries that Uncle Bobby won’t keep having fun with her after he marries his boyfriend Jamie. Uncle Bobby explains that their special times together will not end; Chloe will not be losing an uncle, but gaining one. The book ends at the wedding, with Chloe as the enthusiastic flower girl.
Written from Chloe’s perspective, Uncle Bobby deftly expresses a young child’s concerns about family relationships and change. It stresses the power of love to encompass both old and new. Brannen’s rich watercolor drawings match the tranquil but sometimes playful tone of the text. She has filled the guinea pigs’ world full of trees, flowers, lakes, and cozy firesides. One can see why she cites Beatrix Potter as an artistic influence, though Brannen’s characters seem somehow more cheerful.
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posted by Tom Jackson @ Wednesday, March 26, 2008
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