A new children's picture book which shows the marriage of two anthropomorphic male guinea pigs is likely to garner critical praise as well as ultra-right censorship, reports AfterElton.com. The LGBT-inclusive kids' book tells the story of young guinea pig Chloe, who frets that her fun Uncle Bobby won't keep spending time with her after he marries his partner Jamie. "Uncle Bobby explains that their special times together will not end; Chloe will not be losing an uncle, but gaining one," explains Dana Rudolph on the website. "The book ends at the wedding, with Chloe as the enthusiastic flower girl." Author Sarah S. Brannen says she wanted to tell the story of her own five-year-old niece, who was fascinated with weddings. "A young gay couple with whom she was friends would also talk to her about the garden wedding they dreamed of having. It hit me one day - I'm going to make it a same-sex wedding," she says. She chose guinea pigs because "they have these fat little bodies like water balloons with little legs. I thought they would look funny and cute walking around on their hind legs." A similarly LGBT-friendly children's book released in 2005 courted controversy among right-wing activists. And Tango Makes Three, a story of two male penguins who raise a chick together, won a string of awards, but was banned from some schools in the US.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 27th March 2008 - 10:46am