Let's Get This Straight

Gr 5—10—An active-learning approach separates this handbook from an assortment of other books about children with LGBTQ parents. Its seven chapters cover familiar topics such as families' coming out, acceptance, bullying, and religion. Fakhrid-Deen provides sound information interspersed with interviews, poetry, questionnaires, and pages for journaling. In addition, the fact that 44 people ages 8—36 were interviewed for the book, and that 57 percent "identified as biracial, multiracial, or persons of color," also sets it apart from others on the subject, such as Abigail Garner's Families Like Mine (HarperCollins, 2004) and Judith E. Snow's How It Feels to Have a Lesbian or Gay Parent: A Book by Kids for Kids of All Ages (Harrington Park, 2004). The book includes a glossary of terms in the introduction as well as a good list of resources in the final chapter on activism. While the invitation to write in the book may not be ideal for a library setting, resourceful librarians and teachers will find a way to maximize the book's potential.—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield