GBLTQ Literature - Text as a Set Reflection

Texts as a Set Reflection:

When I began this final project I had my mind set on focusing on children with disabilities, mainly Down Syndrome and Autism. I quickly changed my mind when I arrived at the library to pick out my set of books to review. They were so far and few between that it just wasn’t worth it, so I decided to start my search over and look for books that focused on GLBTQ literature. The librarian had a tough time trying to help me find these books also, especially picture books of this nature. The funny thing is the reason why they were so hard to find was because they had basically been hidden in the back of the library where most people wouldn’t go to find children’s books. I found this to be so interesting, so this topic intrigued me even more. The three books that I chose for my text set to review includes, Mom and Mum are getting Married!, Daddy’s Roommate and And Tango Makes Three. All three of these picture story books were not sorted and shelved with the other picture books, they were sorted by J Fiction. Next to these picture books were more research type books on controversial subjects like GLBTQ literature. I asked the librarian why they had ‘hid’ these books in the back of the library and why they weren’t with the other picture books and she responded with, “well, the books are here for the people that need them but we understand that not everyone wants their children exposed to such literature.” I couldn’t believe what she was saying to me. Why did these books need to be hidden? They all present their characters in positive lights; they all have a good message to send to children and they are relatable. I think that children in these types of ‘non-traditional’ families need books like these to relate to. They need to realize that just because their family isn’t as traditional as their peers may be, doesn’t mean it is wrong or bad; and these books teach that exact lesson.

I was excited to see in two of these books portrayed the main characters as positive influences. It’s a change to see such a thing, especially in children’s literature. I understand that GLBTQ literature is controversial issue, but I think making it young children’s literature is even more controversial because it brings up the question of, how much do you explain without giving too much detail to confuse children but enough information to inform them. I think the main messages that all three of these stories portrayed was that diversity is out there, we are considered the melting pot and just because your family is not of the ‘traditional’ kind, doesn’t mean you have a bad family.

Many of the books I looked at that fell into the GLBTQ category were either challenged or banned because of their ‘controversial’ topics. I think this makes these books that much more interesting and intriguing to read.