Readers & Writers: Choices for young readers for Pride Month
It’s the last Sunday of Pride Month, so we’re closing the observance with a young adult gay boys’ rom-com and picture books about children with same-sex parents or grandparents.
“A Little Bit Country” by Brian D. Kennedy (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99)
The words are stuck in my throat. I know how badly Emmett wants to hear them. But I can’t bring myself to say them. Because I’m not sure if they’re true. I like Emmett a lot. More than I ever thought possible. But I can count the number of people I’ve said ‘I love you’ to on one hand. and they’re all family, so I didn’t really have a choice in the matter … With Emmett, love feels too scary.”
This gentle debut by an author who grew up in St. Paul and Mendota Heights is an easy, enjoyable summer read that’s as much a mystery as a story about Emmett and Luke, who can’t ignore their attraction to one another.
Emmett is from Oak Park, Ill., and can’t wait to get away from home to work for a summer at Wanda World, owned by his country music idol Wanda Jean. (The author admits on his website that one of his “slightly unhealthy obsessions is all things Dolly Parton.”) Emmett hopes his summer as a performer at the amusement park will be the first step in his goal to become country music’s first gay superstar.
Luke, who lives in the Wanda World’s town of Jackson Hollow, Tenn., is weighed down with family obligations and believes he cannot come out as gay because his mother would never forgive him. He hates country music because something happened between his grandmother and Wanda years earlier, and Luke believes that destroyed his family.
The two young men are not sure where their relationship is going since their goals are so different. Emmett urges Luke to come out, but Luke isn’t ready. Still, they meet secretly in Wanda World, amidst the sweet carnival smells and sounds of people having fun. (There is no overt sex in the narrative and it’s handled so delicately even would-be censors won’t find a reason to clutch their pearls.)
After the men discover a stash of songs hidden by Luke’s grandmother, their feelings about country music have to be revised because it seems Wanda Jean might be living a lie.
Kennedy, who lives in New York City with his husband and photogenic dog, will be in person at the Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, to sign books and talk about his novel with guest author Emily J. Taylor. There’ll be special launch party favors at this free program. Space is limited so a ticket is required. Register through June 29, 4:30 p.m., at redballoonbookshop.com. Face coverings are required.
PICTURE BOOKS
“Katy Has two Grampas” by Julie Schanke Lyford and Robert A. Schanke, art by Mariia Luzina (Wise Ink, $18.95)
Katy is excited about grandparents day at her school, because she has two grandpas. But she lisps, so she hardly ever talks. Grandpa Bob and Grandpa Jack are two of her favorite people. But when the teacher asks the children to talk about their grandparents, she can’t understand what Katy is saying because of her lisp, and she thinks the little girl is talking about a grandma and a grandpa. Katy’s big sister takes her to the teacher, who is so sorry she made a mistake. But Katy is still worried. The kids are supposed to introduce their grandparents in front of the class and she’s afraid everyone will laugh at her speech impediment. But when she sees all the different kinds of grandmas and grandpas, she’s proud to introduce her grandpas: “They’re married … TO EACH OTHER.” Her classmates clap and Katy laughs.
This happy book, with bright, energetic illustrations, is written by a father-daughter team. Julie Lyford lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two daughters and is an LGBTQ+ activist. She and her book were highlighted in a Feb. 21 Publishers Weekly article crediting her with persuading Amazon to create its new LGBTQ+ Families children’s book category.
Robert Schanke is a retired college theater professor who lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his husband of 34 years. His books have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award.
“Love, Violet” words by Charlotte Sullivan Wild, pictures by Charlene Chua (Farrar Straus Giroux, $18.99)
Violet, who always wears a hat that’s a cross between a fedora and a cowboy hat, is left speechless by Mira, the girl with the cheery laugh. Violet wants to adventure with Mira, but whenever Violet wants to tell the girl how she feels, she gets shy. When Valentine’s Day approaches, Violet makes a special valentine for Mira, but the wind sweeps it away. When Violet makes an angel in the snow, and falls down, the other kids laugh at her. But Mira doesn’t. Instead, she hands a locket to Violet with a tiny violet inside. And the girls go off adventuring — together.
Charlotte Wilds Sullivan, a Minneapolis native with an MFA from Hamline University, wrote most of this book in the Twin Cities with the support of community organizations and Minnesota grants. She blogs that she was a kid like Violet, with crushes on other girls.
Molly B. Ellis, executive director of publicity for Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, says this is one of the first picture books by a major publisher to portray a queer crush between girls.
“Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle” by Nina LaCour, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita (Candlewick Press, $17.99)
Mommy is African-American, Mama is white, and the unnamed little narrator is in the middle, especially during hugs and at mealtime. The story is set during a week when Mommy is away on business and Mama and the narrator miss her a lot. There are phone calls during which they express their love for one another, and when the narrator feels too sad Mama takes her on her lap and says they can be sad together. Then, there’s cleaning and putting up a Welcome Home sign, and Mommy is back with the narrator where she belongs — in the middle. The writer and illustrator live in California.
“Some Daddies” by Carol Gordon Ekster, illustrated by Javiera Maclean Alvarez (Beaming Books, $17.99)
Dads of all persuasions, gay and straight, sing, read, play, work and love their kids in this book for the very youngest readers. The message: “Every daddy is different. And every child is too.” The publisher is based in Minneapolis. The author is a former elementary school teacher who lives in Massachusetts and the illustrator is Chilean.
