I disagree with that choice but it’s still your choice. I’m getting repetitive this week, but if you don’t want your children to read a book, that’s your choice.

Banned:Īccording to the American Library Association, This Day in June has been “challenged and burned for including LGBTQIA+ content.” Burned! Really? A children’s picture book made someone so angry they felt entitled to burn it? What year are we living in? I recommend this for any parent who wants to foster acceptance, love, and a broader sense of community in their young children but who might not know where to begin this particular conversation. The page-by-page breakdown explains each line of the text as well as any illustrations that are particularly meaningful. I even found the Reader’s Guide at the end to be informative (I didn’t know that lesbians and gay men had to wear arm bands with black or pink triangles, respectively, in WWII concentration camps). I don’t have children but this seems like an excellent tool for heterosexual parents to introduce the little crowd to the LGBTQIA+ community and open the doors for honest questions and discussion. I love that participants and parade marchers alike present a racially-diverse crowd as well. The illustrator chose to keep the observers in muted colors to focus attention on the parade itself, but a close look shows them holding positive signs such as “I love my dads,” “Born this way,” or “Pride.” Same-sex couples occasionally share a chaste kiss or hold hands in this celebration of love in all its forms. The parade is full of colorful characters, some in fancy dress, others in outfits that can be found at a Village People concert, but all happy and excited to be a part of this celebration. The rhyming couplets and colorful pictures in this book are sure to please little readers (or listeners, as the case may be). This Day in June introduces children to the joyous exuberance of a pride parade, where “we’re all united.” A Reading Guide at the back offers age-appropriate tips to parents for discussing LGBTQIA+ issues with children.

This day in june by gayle e pitman