Uncle Bobby's Wedding

By: Sarah S. Brannen (2008)

This book is about a girl named Chloe that has an Uncle Bobby that she loves and does everything with. Her Uncle Bobby decides to get married to a boy name Jamie and Chloe gets upset about this because she doesn't think that she will get to spend as much time with her Uncle anymore. These fears are erased when she spends time with both of her uncles and she has fun and they make her feel special.

The gay marriage topic in this book most likely makes it controversial, however, I do not think that there should be a problem with having gay marriage depicted in a children's book. I think that this sort of book could be very helpful in explaining this situation to a younger child because they may find it easier to relate to a picture book. There didn't seem to be a reason for this book to be banned because there was nothing graphic in the book, only something that some people may find offensive.

I found it interesting that the gay marriage issue was not really the may theme of the story. Chloe was not upset about her uncle marrying a male guinea pig, she was upset about not being able to spend as much time with her uncle because he was getting married. I liked this because it didn't make a big deal of two men getting married, it instead focused more on the topic of Chloe feeling left out. Because of this I think that this book could be used to help children in situations where they are worried about spending less time with a relative because of marriage or a struggling to understand gay marriage.

This may be a book that I would read in the classroom because I think that it discusses many issues that children may be struggling with or have questions about. This book helps answer those questions in a friendly, non threatening format that would allow for better understanding.