We have said it before, and we'll say it over and over again. We're so hot for librarians. We had a burst of bibliophilia this afternoon while reading librarian Jamie Larue's explanation of why the children's book
Uncle Bobby's Wedding by Sarah Brannen belongs on public library shelves.
Uncle Bobby's Wedding is, as you'd expect, about a gay wedding. And as you'd expect, that's where all the trouble begins. The book teaches kids that gay weddings are no big deal. Some lady, as you'd expect, flipped the fuck out after he kid read this book and demanded it be removed from the library or at least quarantined in a section "labeled for parental guidance."
If we'd had to deal with this woman, we'd have been all: bitch, relax and stop telling people what they can and cannot read. But Jamie Larue is too classy to resort to pettiness or name-calling. He is so classy he has penned a lengthy and air tight response to this woman's objection. We read the whole thing. We beamed.
Here's a particularly thrilling excerpt:
You feel that a book about gay marriage is inappropriate for young children. But another book in our collection, “Daddy's Roommate,” was requested by a mother whose husband left her, and their young son, for another man. She was looking for a way to begin talking about this with son. Another book, “Alfie's Home,” was purchased at the request of another mother looking for a way to talk about the suspected homosexuality of her young son from a Christian perspective. There are gay parents in Douglas County, right now, who also pay taxes, and also look for materials to support their views. We don't have very many books on this topic, but we do have a handful.
In short, most of the books we have are designed not to interfere with parents' notions of how to raise their children, but to support them. But not every parent is looking for the same thing.
Jamie Larue, you are hotness incarnate. An inspiration even.