Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

In honor of Pride this month, I figured it would be a good idea to check out one of the first big-time LGBTQIA+ picture books published in America. We’ve already covered Heather Has Two Mommies in a previous episode, so what’s left? Well, if Heather Has Two Mommies came out in 1989, Daddy’s Roommate followed just a year later in 1990. It was on ALA’s top 10 banned list from 1990-1999. Researching it, I had no idea this would be such a fruitful book to explore. Above and beyond little things like the details Willhoite is just throwing in there (20 points to anyone who can identify this specific Janus Theatre logo) there’s the fact that Sarah Palin hated it and it was brought up during the 2008 presidential campaign. Plus I get to tell my John Waters purple velvet fainting couch story (which so rarely comes up).

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Show Notes:

If you would like to see the video that Kate was critiquing from, you can watch it here:

Check out this kid’s shirt! There are five different things going on all at once! Pick a lane, shirt! Pick a lane!

Let’s all vote on this next one. Who, do you think, was gracing the cover of this copy of Time magazine?

Okay, folks. We’re talking 1990 Janus Theatre. Who had this specific logo in the 1980s?

The lamp caught me unawares. Willhoite spent an inordinate amount of time and attention rendering this lamp in all its perfect glory (not that the quilt isn’t pretty darn impressive too).

Behold! A purple velvet fainting couch! And here I thought John Waters was the only person to own one.

I can never mention it enough. Mini Mia and Her Darling Uncle. One of my favorite books in the world:

Kate says this guy in the closet looks like Bing Bong in the film Inside Out.

AUGGHH!! Popped collars!

So…. many… popped… collars… Is no one safe?

Shoot. Kate’s right. I thought this was clearly an Ingmar Bergman Fest. But if I look at the poster on the far right . . . it’s an Ingrid Bergman Fest. Point to Kate. And extra points if you can identify the two movies on the posters.

Here’s the sequel. I was a bit baffled that it wasn’t brought back in print when gay marriage was made legal… but then again, maybe this book is just a little bit on the dated side.

As Lark pointed out the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival features, amongst other things, Stanley Tucci reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

In case you’re curious, here is Sarah Cooper doing How to Medical:

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