Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle

Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle. Pija Lindenbaum. Illus. by Pija Lindenbaum. New York: R&S Books, 2007. 28 pages. $16.00 (Hardcover). ISBN 978-91-29-66734-9. K-3.

Mia is visiting her grandma and her boring uncles while her parents are in Miami. Luckily for her, Tommy, her favorite uncle just got back in to town. They do everything together; they hang out in coffee bars people watching, listen to music, and relax. Tommy even dyes Mia’s hair a different color whenever she wants. One day Tommy’s friend Fergus is at his flat when Mia arrives, and she is not impressed. Mia does not want to share her darling uncle with anyone and tries to sabotage their daily adventures. In the end Fergus does have one redeeming quality and Mia accepts his presence and companionship. Internationally acclaimed author/illustration Pija Lindenbaum creates a laugh out loud, relatable tale that embodies childhood jealousy and the difficulty of accepting change. Although Fergus is never identified as Tommy’s boyfriend their close friendship and camaraderie, in addition to Mia’s jealousy implies this bond. The bright colorful watercolors add to the fun of the story and depict emotion, as well as giving the entire book a positive tone and light. While Tommy’s flamboyant clothing, love of opera, and hairdressing profession seem stereotypical readers can overlook that and enjoy the fun loving uncle that Mini Mia adores. Recommended   

My Thoughts…

Mini Mia certainly is a character and it is no wonder that she likes Uncle Tommy best. As far as the story goes…it is cute and lovable, and it truly is funny, but I did kind of find the markers of Tommy’s implied sexuality a little stereotypical. I did like how the jealousy of Mia helped imply the importance of Fergus to Tommy and their relationship, but I don’t know if he really needed to be a hairdresser and cry when the dog died in the movie they saw. I loved the contrast between the boring uncles and the fun Tommy, because it showed that different isn’t bad, but fun and should be embraced, no matter if it is homosexuality or if it just being able to pick out cool presents. I loved the variety of different things they did together, which is another reason I think that this book is great. I think, however, that the homosexual theme could be overlooked, it almost was by me because I was too busy wondering what Mia was going to say or plan next. I think that it does do a good job of positively portraying relationships between children and homosexual family members or friends. I think it would be a good book to use to introduce a new relationship to a child because Mia does have a completely normal and respected reaction to a parent or family member dating someone new…gay or straight.

Potential Reaction…

I think kids will fall in love with Mia and how clever and stubborn she is. I think they will see themselves in her. Unfortunately, I think they may also adopt some of her ideas of sabotage. I bet that they will have a harder time resisting Fergus’s charm though and may get confused as to why Mia dislikes him so much, especially if they don’t pick up on the bond between Tommy and Fergus. High dives, for example are really cool. Actually, all of the activities that Mia and her uncle do are really fun and interesting, and I think kids will want their family members to be that cool to. I am not sure that kids will put the two and two together when it comes to Fergus and Tommy unless they have met or know other gay couples. I don’t think kids minds just go there naturally and the text is very discreet and doesn’t point and obvious fingers to this cause. I do think kids with homosexual parents, friends, or relatives will enjoy this book and seeing their acquaintances represented. I do think that even if the homosexual tones aren’t recognized by the young audience that the difficulty accepting someone new in your life will be. I think they will be able to share personal examples like Mia’s if someone new ever joined their circle of friends and they disliked them at first only to realize they were really cool.   

Reminds Me Of…

The only two LGBTQ picture books I am familiar with are And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, and Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite. Although And Tango Makes Three was very controversial and heavily criticized I hardly found it provocative and feel like they did a good job of introducing homosexuality without ever just saying it, just like in Mini Mia. Daddy’s Roommate is a little less discreet mainly because the mother isn’t at home which implies that they divorced so the dad could have a new roommate. I still find, however, that this title was in the back of my mind while reading Mini Mia. The scenarios are different, but still pretty similar and both books would be great for introducing children to a growing (more open) demographic. I also think that children with gay parents, relatives, friends, etc. will like both titles.