Acceptance, identity, inclusion, respect, and love, are key central themes explored within good books awarded mention inside of the LGBTQ Stonewall Award. Imagine that you are a parent of a child (fast forward:)) who is gay. Their teacher reads the book And Tango Makes Three, and your child comes home excited that they, too, can have a family of their own someday. They feel pride of their sexual identity because of this book reading. You, as a nurturing parent, have taken an interest in garnering a library for your child whereby they will see themselves reflected in the pages of the storyline with both dignity and pride. The following books, And Tango Makes Three, Heather has Two Mommies, Julian is a Mermaid, 10,000 Dresses, When Aidan Became a Brother, and, This Day in June are books that your child brought from home to Show and Tell with the whole class. The teacher decides to buy copies of each of these for the school library. Then, an irate Mommy storms into the school library and demands that each of these books be banned and reviewed by the school board before reinstating. You go to the school board meeting as an advocate for your child, and prepare a document to read about the social justice merits found within EACH of the 6 books listed above.
1. And Tango Makes Three https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uOXUCiDE-s&t=7s (Links to an external site.)
2. Heather has Two Mommies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPELRbTINk&t=3s (Links to an external site.)
3. Julian is a Mermaid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0C_yvkbY_0 (Links to an external site.)
4. 10,000 Dresses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRpaz-hdggo (Links to an external site.)
5. When Aidan Became a Brother https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvPWsKSghHs (Links to an external site.)
6. This Day in June https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VI8UgEkH-c (Links to an external site.)
Writing Prompt: Write in a minimum of 200 WORDS a strong and powerful message to the school board about WHY EACH these books matter and should be visible to ALL students to eradicate the hate and homophobia that you fear your child could face. Bullet point each book with a strong reason why the book should NOT BE BANNED!!! Make sure to connect your message with the themes stated above: Acceptance, Identity, Inclusion, Respect, and Love. Conclude your comments reminding the board about the need to give voice and visibility to ALL in order to garner empathy for humanity. Cite 1 APA quote inside of your discussion to support your reasoning and rhetoric. Use the following article from the EDUC 121 Reader for your quote: “Multicultural Inclusion of Lesbian and Gay Literature Themes in Elementary Classroomcgos” (Logan et al., 2016)
