A Tale of Two Daddies

A Tale of Two Daddies. Vanita Oelschlager. Illus. by Kristen Blackwood and Mike Blanc.  New York: VanitaBooks, 2010. 40 pages. $15.95 (Hardcover). ISBN 978-0-9819714-5-2. Grades PreK-2.

Lincoln sure has a lot of questions about his friend’s two dads, but the bubbly little girl in this story has no problem answering them. Poppa handles braids; Daddy is there when she’s afraid. Poppa can build a house in a tree, and Daddy can fix ouchies on her knee. Both of them, however, help with homework, catch frogs, tuck her in, and show her love. The fun rhymes that bounce off the pages will have readers guessing what comes next. Author and Writer in Residence for the Literacy Program at the University of Akron,Vanita Oelschlager has written a short, yet sweet story showing that parents, regardless of gender, can and will love and fulfill the needs of their children despite socially defined gender roles. The bright, lively cartoon illustrations of Kristin Blackwood and Mike Blanc show the simplicity of childhood friendship and satisfaction, while also depicting paternal love. The emotion displayed through upbeat colors and expression also adds to the inquiring text and successfully communicates the positive tone. Recommended

My Thoughts…

I think this is a cute book, and I love the rhymes and pictures, but I am not sure where I would rank it on a scale from 1 to 10 when I compare it to other LGBTQ books. I like how parental roles are addressed subtly without making some huge social argument. I enjoyed that love was expressed and focused on with a duh on the final page of the book. I think the illustrations were adorable and I liked seeing the steps of how they were conceived in the note at the end. I found it interesting that the proceeds of this book will go mainly to charities that fund those suffering from multiple sclerosis. I also found it interesting that there was no mention of the importance of books featuring LGBTQ characters or themes. In previous books there has been a mention somewhere about representing the modern family or what not. I like the simple format of the text, and I think the inquisitive nature of the friend is very true to children’s perspective. I definitely think younger children would have the same kind of questions for their friends if their family make up was different than their own. At first I thought it was a little superficial and lame, but then it started to grow on me. I think that this is a good book for younger children because it can show them appropriate questions to ask their friends but will also help them see that life with single gendered parents is similar to life with any family.

Potential Reaction…

I think A Tale of Two Daddies is going to encourage lots of questions to be asked and conversations to be had. I think readers will begin to ask their friends questions about their home lives and which of their parents do what, whether the parents are single gendered or not. Kids in the target audience age love to ask questions and this book will just prompt more. I think kids may ask why the little girl has two dads, since Lincoln does not ask this big question. I do feel like this question would arise sooner if the readers do not know any friends that have single gendered parents. I think this book would give children an opportunity to investigate gender roles or social roles in general when considering who does what in their own home. I think that this is a good book for younger children because it does not touch on right or wrong, but accepts the situation for what it is.

Reminds Me Of…

The theme of certain parents doing certain things is pretty common in most of the LGBTQ literature I have encountered. In Our Mother’s House makes distinctions between the two mothers of the narrator, but the story itself focuses on much more than that. Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle points out the differences in talents of Uncle Tommy and his friend Fergus, but the story isn’t really about that either. I think that comparatively this book touches on a surface level theme without delving in to something deeper like other literature in the same genre.