As I contemplated Peter Appelbaum’s use of children’s literature in curriculum theorizing, I wondered if I could apply his concepts to books about same-sex parents. “A Tale of Two Daddies” is about a little girl with two daddies, Poppa and Daddy. It is a very simple story of who does what narrated by her friend. We don’t ever get the name of the little boy who narrates, but the care of the little girl rotates between the two dads, or may exclude them (she can match her own socks!), or may include both of them.
I think the lessons here are obvious if we only want to use this text as curriculum. However, if we want to consider this story in terms of theorizing, then we need to ask more questions: Why is there a need for such a book? What occurrences in the author’s life prompted her to write this book? Who do these characters represent to the author?
The author, Vanita Oelschlager, wrote this story for her grandchildren, she says on the fly page, and all proceeds will go to the multiple sclerosis society in honor of her husband. It would be interesting to know what other children might draw from this book. What kind of back story would elementary children write from reading this book? What questions would come up for other children after reading this book? The little boy claims that someone named Lincoln said she had two daddies. Who is Lincoln? Why is Lincoln needed to give credence to the questions he has for his friend about her two daddies?
