In an increasing number of states, that choice could contravene the law. Not long after my son brought “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” home, his public elementary school picked it as the Book of the Month for June, to coincide with Pride. My kids live in a version of that world-hardly a post-gender utopia, but many of their peers have two moms or two dads, and it’s not unusual for boys to wear nail polish or tutus to preschool. Instead, it’s a book where queer families just are, in a world where no one must be persuaded of it.

“Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” offers no hint that Bobby’s marriage itself is a departure from any norm. The story’s central conflict, the crucial set of assumptions that Chloe must shake off, is rooted not in any child-sized homophobia but in her worries that her uncle, once he’s married and perhaps starting a family of his own, will no longer fly kites with her or take her to the ballet.

to be gay.īut “ Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” happily, is not that book at all. The book that I assumed this one to be unfurled in my head: Chloe would haltingly accept the notion that a wedding isn’t just for a man and a woman she would learn that it’s O.K. He taught her the names of the stars.” Just a few pages in, Bobby brings his boyfriend to a family picnic, and there, to Chloe’s consternation, the couple announce their engagement. The girl is Chloe, and one of the men, Bobby, is her favorite uncle: “He took her rowing on the river. The book’s cover features two smiling grooms in skinny-fit suits standing beneath an arbor, and a tiny flower girl, about my son’s age, wearing a bright yellow dress. Recently, my five-year-old son brought home a picture book from our local library called “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” and, when he asked me to read it at bedtime that evening, I felt a profound resignation.

Child craft light table