My Uncle’s Wedding (2011), written by Eric Ross and illustrated by Tracy K. Greene, is a story about two men planning their wedding. The story is told from the perspective of their nephew, a young boy named Andy, who is helping them.
Greene’s cartoonish illustration gives the story a fun and slightly silly feel that younger children will surely appreciate. The theme of two uncles getting married is one of the most prevalent in LGBTQ* children’s literature, but Ross has an interesting take. He focuses on planning the wedding.
It’s a fine and nicely told story, but it doesn’t really stand out. Characters are not very developed and beyond planning a wedding nothing happens…. that’s not entirely true… a bird does poop on Andy’s aunt!
This review is part of my “Snapshots of LGBTQ Kid Lit” project. I’m working on a book, The New Queer Children’s Literature: Exploring the Principles and Politics of LGBTQ* Children’s Picture Books, which is under contract with the University Press of Mississippi. Part of my research is identifying and interpreting English-language children’s picture books with LGBTQ* content published in the US and Canada between 1979 and 2019. Follow my blog to follow my journey!
