Daddy's Roommate

Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s Roommate. (1990). California: Alyson Publications.

The second picture book I chose to represent GLBT literature is Daddy’s Roommate. Told in the first person, a young boy explains how his parents got a divorce last year. He goes on to say that his father is now living with a man named Frank. The boy describes how his father and Frank do everything together such as work, eat and sleep. The boy also says how occasionally they fight, but like most couples, they always make up. He says that Frank is a lot like his father and explains some of the things him and Frank do together. He also says that they go places together, just like most families. He says that his mother told him his dad and Frank are gay. She then explains that “being gay is just one more kind of love, and love is the best happiness.”

The illustrations included in Daddy’s Roommate are very colorful and cartoon like. The illustrations do not show the characters as stereotypical, which teaches outsiders to the group that not all gays or lesbians look the same. The text is very easy for emergent readers to read by themselves. There is only one sentence at the most on each page, and all the words are very simple. The fact that children can read this story independently draws them in and allows them to read it as often as they would like. This is important because if parents are opposed to reading their child a book about gay characters, the child can choose to read it by themselves. Michael Willhoite does his own illustrations; therefore, the illustrations and text collaborate to tell the story.

The character in this book that represents the GLBT group is the father of the main character. Through the illustrations readers can connect to the characters, and receive an appropriate view of the inside group. This is an important book to discuss in the area of diverse literature because not only does it deal with the issue of homosexuality, but it also deals with the issue of divorce, which many children can also relate to. The main message that this book portrays is just as the last sentence in the book says, “Gay is just one more kind of love”. As long as two people love each other, their sexual orientation does not matter. One thing I found about Daddy’s Roommate that I did not find in the other picture books is that it actually uses the term gay. It directly addresses the issue. This is helpful because it teaches children, parents, and teachers to not shy away from using the term. It is matter of fact and should not be kept secret, as long as it is used in the appropriate way.

Although Michael Willhoite is not an insider to the LGBT group, the note in the beginning of the book says “to my dad” indicating that his father is an insider to the group. He is correctly informed about the LGBT group because like the main character in the book, his father is gay. Books by outsiders can be just as accurate as, sometimes even more accurate as books written by insiders. For example, since Willhoite really is a child with a gay father, he is able to describe the exact emotions or behaviors that he went through growing up. An insider to the group, perhaps a gay man, may understand what it is like to be gay, but not understand what it is like to grow up with gay parents. This book was published by Alyson Wonderland Publications. Alyson Publications focuses on publishing books about children of gay and lesbian parents. Their books are created specifically for these children. They have specific submission guidelines indicating that the author must send a detailed description of their non-fiction book, as well an explanation as to why the author is qualified to write GLBT literature. This is another way readers can trust that this book is an accurate portrayal of gay men.

Image From: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/gifs/willhoti.gif