From: JuneCL at aol.com <JuneCL>
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 19:47:13 EDT

I think that The Skull of Truth by Bruce Coville, is a good example of this, too. It's a fantasy for intermediate grades that is part of the Magic Shop series. When the skull's proximity at a family dinner forces the uncle to tell the truth that he is gay, the boy who is the main character (sorry, forget his name) needs to assimilate this new information about his favorite uncle and come to grips with his uncle's silence on a topic of such importance. This is not an issue book; the sexual orientation of the uncle is a strand that is secondary to the main plot, woven in naturally and believably.
    It seems to me that there are quite a few GLBT picture books and quite a few books for middle school/junior high, but few novels for the intermediate grades (3-5/6). I'm wondering if I'm missing some titles, or if this observation is indeed accurate.
    Thanks,
    June Locke
    Librarian, Belle Sherman El. School
    Ithaca, NY
Received on Fri 18 Jun 2004 06:47:13 PM CDT