Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Module 15: Uncle Bobby's Wedding


Citation: Brannen, S. S. (2008). Uncle Bobby’s wedding. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Summary: Young Chole, loves her Uncle Bobby dearly and always enjoys her time with him but she’s afraid that may all change when he gets married.  Uncle Bobby is marrying his boyfriend Jaime and Chole worries she will not be as special to him.  Will this family of guinea pigs be able to stay close after the wedding? Of course, Uncle Bobby and his new husband still spend time with Chole and she soon discovers that she is still special to her uncle.  She is very happy when he expresses this by asking her to be the flower girl in his wedding.


Impression: Peace, Love and a Warm Read!

It doesn’t matter that the true moral of the story is an introduction to a homosexual couple getting married, because sweet Chole is still special to her uncle and the peaceful and loving feelings shine through. The story gives you that warm feeling because the focus is on family and love.  This makes for a friendly way to introduce homosexuality.


Reviews: When her favorite uncle, Bobby, announces that he is getting married to his boyfriend, Jamie, Chloe worries that he won’t have time for her anymore. The characters are all guinea pigs in human dress, and the sweet, doublepage spreads in watercolor and graphite show the idyllic bond between the child and her uncle, as they walk together in the woods, row on the river, and more. In contrast are the scenes of her sadness and jealousy until she learns to have fun with both Bobby and Jamie together—even as they talk about their plans to raise their own kids. The climax is the joyful, exciting wedding—the couple in tuxedos, Chloe as the flower girl, and the big, extended family all together, smiling and teary. A celebration of same-sex marriage, this is about family happiness. Pair with Justin Richardson’s And Tango Makes Three (2005).

Rochman, H. (2008). Uncle Bobby's wedding. Booklist, 104(9/10), 96.


K-Gr 2-- This is a spare story about Chloe, a young guinea pig who is jealous of her Uncle Bobby's new friend, Jamie; however, that obscures the other main theme, which is that her favorite uncle is going to marry him. Everything happens too abruptly. Readers and Chloe meet him for the first time on the day that Bobby announces, "We're getting married." It seems likely that a special niece would have already met the man her uncle loves enough to wed. Michael Willhoite's Daddy's Wedding (Alyson Wonderland, 1996) introduces same-sex marriage adroitly when a little boy asks one obvious question, "Can men get married to each other?" The boy is reassured with an affirmative response. Chloe neither asks nor gets a direct answer; instead, her mother tells her that people who love each other "want to be married." The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations are sweet and tender. One scene shows Chloe, Uncle Bobby, and Jamie sitting on the floor roasting marshmallows at a fireplace. While the cover shows the two males dressed in formal clothing, the use of animal characters and a name common for both males and females may confuse and delay some children's comprehension. The themes of jealousy and gay relationships are introduced naturally in Pija Lindenbaum's Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle (Farrar, 2007).

Cutler, K. (2008). Uncle Bobby's wedding. School Library Journal, 54(4), 103.

Use in Library: This book could be used as part of a banned book display during Banned Book Week. Another suggestion would be to include other books in similar content that it can be paired with it: Daddy’s Roommate, Heather has Two Mommies, and And Tango Makes Three.