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112th out of 422 books
—
1,500 voters
Daddy's Roommate
This story's narrator begins with his parent's divorce and continues with the arrival of "someone new at Daddy's house". The new arrival is male. This new concept is explained to the child as "just one more kind of love". The text is suitably straightforward, and the format--single lines of copy beneath full-page illustrations--easily accessible to the intended audience.
Paperback, 32 pages
Published
July 1st 1994
by Alyson Books
(first published June 1990)
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Daddy’s Roommate is a children’s book by Michael Willhoite that centers around a young boy and his very unique family. After the young boy’s parents divorce, his father begins living with his new “roommate,” who we later discover is actually his father’s partner. As a literacy teacher, depending on the grade level I was teaching and whether or not there were students with same sex parents, I would use this text to discuss a very sensitive subject, same sex relationships. I think students would r...more
So in honor of Banned Books Week, I picked up a copy of Daddy’s Roommate.
And laughed and laughed.
Not because Daddy and Frank are gay, but because they’re absolute caricatures of Late Eighties Gay Man, tank tops and Ingrid Bergman and all. Oh, illustrations. How you date things.
Oh, and also because at one point, as both Daddy and Frank are relaxing at the beach, Daddy making eyes at Frank and Frank liberally rubbing Daddy down with sunscreen, neither of them appear to notice that their child ha...more
And laughed and laughed.
Not because Daddy and Frank are gay, but because they’re absolute caricatures of Late Eighties Gay Man, tank tops and Ingrid Bergman and all. Oh, illustrations. How you date things.
Oh, and also because at one point, as both Daddy and Frank are relaxing at the beach, Daddy making eyes at Frank and Frank liberally rubbing Daddy down with sunscreen, neither of them appear to notice that their child ha...more
I liked this book and even though it has one line of text per page, I would recommend it as a picture book for older children. The book captures the relationship between a young boys dad and his partner, Frank. At the beginning of the story the young boy, probably about 8 or 9 years old, talks about his mom and dad getting divorced. Then he explains that his dad has a new relationship with Frank. The boy compares the life his dad and Frank have to the life he had with his dad and mom when they w...more
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The storyline of this book is great and perfect for young children. There's about one simple sentence per page and the concept of a gay couple is presented perfectly for the age group. The child spends time with his dad and his "roommate." He explains that his dad and his roommate do everything together. They hang out with him. They cook together. And they sleep in the same bed together. Mom later explains that dad is gay. The son asks what that means and she simply says, it means they are two m...more
An unexceptional picture book with an exceptional message. The book, quite simply, shows the protagonist's father and his father's new boyfriend acting like any heterosexual couple; they cuddle, argue, make up, and raise the protagonist together. The protagonist's mother, amicably divorced from his father, explains that the two men are gay and that the fact that they love each other is the most important thing. The book is great for showing children that having a gay parent, or two gay parents,...more
Do you think that banned book should really ban in school? This is a hard question to answer, because whether banned book is bad or good for children is not we can decide for. Everyone have a different opinoin on the same thing, for a banned book, if you don’t want it, you can just get over it, that’s your decision, but others may want to read about the book.
Sex was always one of the most reasons to ban a book. Adult thought that is unsatisfied for a child to read this kind of book. Daddy's Room...more
Sex was always one of the most reasons to ban a book. Adult thought that is unsatisfied for a child to read this kind of book. Daddy's Room...more
this book is FAIL.
well, let me clarify: this part is GREAT: "Mom says Daddy and Frank are gay./At first I didn't know what that meant. So she explained it./Being gay is just one more kind of love./ And love is the best kind of happiness." Lovely, appropriate, true.
but the illustrations are wack for a kid's book. Daddy's roommate has a package!? You gotta be kidding me. In one panel, "We go to the beach", Daddy's too busy making googly eyes at Frank while Frank rubs sunscreen on Daddy's back to...more
well, let me clarify: this part is GREAT: "Mom says Daddy and Frank are gay./At first I didn't know what that meant. So she explained it./Being gay is just one more kind of love./ And love is the best kind of happiness." Lovely, appropriate, true.
but the illustrations are wack for a kid's book. Daddy's roommate has a package!? You gotta be kidding me. In one panel, "We go to the beach", Daddy's too busy making googly eyes at Frank while Frank rubs sunscreen on Daddy's back to...more
Daddy's Roommate is a book that is about a young boy and his unique family. This young boy's mom and dad are recently divorced and his dad is living with his new "roommate". We eventually find out that Daddy's roommate is his boyfriend. It's interesting to see how a young child views his father's new relationship. This book although short and quick to the point packs such a huge topic and a very intense subject matter for a children's book. I found it very intriguing and quite humorous at some p...more
Another reviewer below pegged this book as "serving it's purpose." Which it does, it's not really creative or fun or interesting for that matter as far as content. It explains homosexuality in a way that kids can understand. Which is awesome, of course, but this is more like one of those situational books for kids in need of specific explanations (like having a suddenly gay dad), rather then a story. There have been quite a few more books recently dealing with the topic in a more entertaining, l...more
I'm not sure that the books position that being gay is a unusual kind of love might be too basic than necessary and while I welcome the humor in the use of the word roommate to mean spouse/significant other the use here could be confusing to the reader when it comes to people living as genuine roommates without being spouse/significant others. I absolutely adore the books depiction of the couple in this story as they have on the same daily routines as other committed families. It shows that this...more
If someone asked me to recommend a book for kids with gay parents, I would not recommend this one. Still, it's not really terrible. It's just so old school and, I think, probably written by someone who just wanted there to be one decent picture book where a kid has a homosexual parent.
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Like Heather Has Two Mommies, I read this book when I was an adult, in my 20s. Unlike Heather Has Two Mommies, I actually liked this book.
For one thing, the pictures are better. They're bright. They're colorful. They're cheerful. They make it look like having a daddy who has a roommate might be fun. A picture book should have nice pictures, and this one does.
I don't remember the exact plot. I think it's just about this kid and what he does with Daddy and the roommate, but I remember they all see...more
For one thing, the pictures are better. They're bright. They're colorful. They're cheerful. They make it look like having a daddy who has a roommate might be fun. A picture book should have nice pictures, and this one does.
I don't remember the exact plot. I think it's just about this kid and what he does with Daddy and the roommate, but I remember they all see...more
While is is important to represent all types of families in children's books, this book is a little too pat about what would be a difficult situation: a boy's father leaving his mother for another man. While the book shows that families with gay parents are just like any other family (reading, catching bugs, going to the zoo), the fact that the boy never questions his parents' divorce seems unrealistic. In any family, with heterosexual or homosexual parents, divorce is difficult for a child to p...more
In this book a boy talks about his father and his father's boyfriend, with whom he visits. What I found unrealistic is the easy acceptance on the part of the mother. True, there may be some women who would be accepting, but I think the majority would be embarrassed and/or angry if their husband turned out to be gay. What I also disliked about the book were the illustrations, which were cartoonish. The style seemed to detract from the serious message of the book. Otherwise, it was a nice, positiv...more
If this review was not based heavily on the pictures, I would have given the book 4 stars. Daddy's Roommate is about a boy whose father Gets a divorce and then begins a relationship with a man, Frank. The story itself is fine and should be easy for children to understand, but the pictures were pretty terrible. Frank was especially terrible, since he looked like a complete creep and his groin area looked inappropriate throughout the entire book. This book was written in the '90s, but I think it s...more
Daddy's Roommate is a very powerful children's book, which is the issue. It's easy to tell that the book is intended to be a children's book by the many illustrations and one sentence pages, but I don't think it's something little kids should read. It clearly expresses that homosexuality is okay, not that I ever questioned that to begin with, but parent's are normally very protective over what kind of ideas they want their child to believe. That being said, while it is a great book, I think the...more
This book is about how a boy explains that his father is a homosexual.It is written in a way that if a child reads it, it doesn't give them the idea that being a homosexual is wrong nor right.This story is told by the man's son. he describes his father's relationship with a male friend.From the way the author writes, it's as if the boy doesn't know if his father is a homosexual.
This book educates both children and adults about homosexuality.Even though the kid has two dads and a mother, he's sti...more
This book educates both children and adults about homosexuality.Even though the kid has two dads and a mother, he's sti...more
I had heard before that this book was poorly done; I don't think it's a gem by any standard, but it certainly wasn't awful. The situation of the little boy in the story is pretty specific--mom and dad divorced and dad is now living with his partner, Frank. The illustrations are VERY stereotypical drawings of gay men, but this is a considerably older book. Would not be my first choice to introduce a child to the concept of having two parents of the same gender, but it's not as bad as it has been...more
TEXT SET
This book is about a young boy who, after his parents get divorced, his father moves in with his gay partner./ The book depicts the gay couple as doing all things a heterosexual couple would do; cleaning, eating, sleeping, reading, arguing etc. The text is very straightforward and simple, giving the needed amount of attention to the illustrations. The relationship is explained as “one more kind of love” showing that the important message is who you love and not what gender they are.
This book is about a young boy who, after his parents get divorced, his father moves in with his gay partner./ The book depicts the gay couple as doing all things a heterosexual couple would do; cleaning, eating, sleeping, reading, arguing etc. The text is very straightforward and simple, giving the needed amount of attention to the illustrations. The relationship is explained as “one more kind of love” showing that the important message is who you love and not what gender they are.
I really liked this book. I thought they had a great explanation about the meaning of being gay. I thought it showed a picture of a very good functional family. I thought the picture were good.
My summary,
A little boy goes to his dad's place and hangs out with him and his roommate. He asks his mom about daddy's roommate and she explains to him that his dad is gay and what the meaning of being gay is and why they got a divorce.
My summary,
A little boy goes to his dad's place and hangs out with him and his roommate. He asks his mom about daddy's roommate and she explains to him that his dad is gay and what the meaning of being gay is and why they got a divorce.
Daddy's Roommate is about a boy who's parents are divorced and his dad is now gay. It is told through the boys understanding on how his dad and his roommate do everything a family would do together and what his understanding of gay is. I think that this can be a good book for a child who is going through this same scenario becuase it is told through the boy's eyes.
This book is one of the still sadly few resources out there for youngsters with nontraditional families. The simple text is OK, but the illustrations are dated and ridiculous. (Think Dad and roommate rubbing suntan oil on each other at the beach, or getting into an argument because one of them left an iron burn on his dress shirt.)
A boy's parents get divorced, and he learns his dad is gay. The book explores in a very simplistic way that being gay is about love, and the boy learned that his dad's partner loves him just like his dad and mom.
This is a very simplistic way of explaining to young kids about a different type of family than they might be used to.
This is a very simplistic way of explaining to young kids about a different type of family than they might be used to.
Read a translated and re-translated version of the book that was linked from Reddit. It's a great concept well executed, but not exactly riveting reading.
In this book a young boy describes the activities that his father and his roommate, Frank, participate in. This book would be good for teaching students to be accepting of different family structures. It also could be recommended for a student being raised by two fathers to read.
One of my favorite children's books. Really, there is no simpler way to introduce the the different kinds of love to a child, aside from stating it from day one. Showing children the variety in which love occurs should be a necessary part of growing up.
This showed a very cute view of how a child might view having two gay fathers. I enjoyed the tone it was put in.
It skimmed the surface only, didn't delve deeply into public acceptance, or what this meant for the child, but overall it was cute.
It skimmed the surface only, didn't delve deeply into public acceptance, or what this meant for the child, but overall it was cute.
The most censored book in the United States and Canada.
Wonderful book to share with students who are experiencing this family life style.
Unfortunately, there is no way we can teach this and still keep our jobs.
Wonderful book to share with students who are experiencing this family life style.
Unfortunately, there is no way we can teach this and still keep our jobs.
Dec 07, 2010
Tania Gilmore
added it
You may want to talk to your classroom parents before sharing this book with students. This is a good book to teach students who live in these kind of households. Children need to know that their families are unique
Adequate, necessary, with some bright spots - but really we need better books to celebrate all kinds of families. I hope someday soon these 'issues' become so much background to the real stories.
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