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Daddy's Wedding
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Willhoite, Michael. 1996. DADDY'S WEDDING. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson Wonderland. ISBN 1-55583-350-0.

DADDY’S WEDDING is the sequel to Michael Willhoite’s DADDY’S ROOMMATE.  In this story ten-year-old Nick’s father and his boyfriend Frank decide to get married.  Nick’s mother is remarried and very accepting of Nick’s father’s choice.  When Daddy and Frank tell Nick the news, he wonders if men can get married to each other.  They ask Nick to be the best man and the ceremony and reception ensue.

 

Rainbow banners and flags decorate the backyard at Daddy and Frank’s “commitment ceremony.”  Family and friends gather and Nick’s grandparents are happy to attend.  This sends a good message of acceptance to young children but may lead them to wonder why their family might not have been so accepting.  The minister is a woman in flowing robes and Daddy and Frank wear matching tuxedos.  When the Reverend says that they are married, the two men kiss with Nick looking on calmly in the illustration.  This may be a strong reinforcement for children with homosexual parents that there is nothing “gross” in the love their parents share.

 

At the reception there is some action involving the dog getting into the cake, but otherwise, the story is somewhat stale.  The subject matter of the book is important, but the text just seems to tell the story in an unemotional way.  The pictures are simple, getting the point across without being overly interesting on their own.  The last part of the book, where Daddy and Frank go on their honeymoon and Nick goes to baseball camp seems slightly forced.  It seems almost as if Willhoite felt the need to reiterate that Nick can still do “manly” things even though his father is gay.  This books was published before the more current issues with gay marriage, and it will be especially interesting to see if more children’s literature will come from those same-sex wedding experiences.