My Guncle and Me

“Wait. THAT’S what this was about? I did NOT get that,” were the words out of my 21 year old daughter’s mouth when she and I were discussing my feelings about My Guncle and Me by Jonathan Merritt. She is an education major and regularly pores through my stacks to find something to use with classes. She was saying that she liked this book and thought she could use it this way and that way, but what on earth was a guncle? I said, “C’mon, Lise. You know. You have two guncles.” She stared at me and uttered the three sentences above, and moved on with the day. And I stared at the chair where she had been sitting and silently uttered a thank you prayer that we’re at a time where guncles are uncles.

My Guncle and Me centers around Henry, a little kid that is struggling to be at home with who he is. He says that the other children think he is strange, is always picked last for games, and wants to change a lot about himself. Things look up when his favorite relative, his guncle, comes for a weekend visit. They spend time together discussing how Henry feels different and uncool. Henry’s guncle affirms Henry for who he is, listening to how he is feeling, and enjoying shared activities together. The book ends with Henry’s guncle telling him that he is a special child and he should continue to be himself as the world is made of people in all shapes and sizes, but what matters the most is love, not appearances. The words are in a gentle rhyme, supported by vibrant pictures. 

You may be wondering why I was thankful that my oldest kid’s reaction to the book was one that completely missed that guncle was a combination of the words gay and uncle. For the first half of her life, her uncles, who had been a couple longer than her father and I had been, were unable to be legally married. For the first half of her life, people really didn’t discuss our lgbtq+ siblings in positive ways. I do wonder what I’ve done as a parent that will come back to haunt me, and, to be honest, I’m hopeful that my kid’s reaction indicates that we didn’t mess that part up too badly. We long for a world where all children know that they are beloved and precious and valued just as they were created. We work for a world where people are celebrated for who they are as God’s good creation, in the world to do the work set out before them. We pray for peace and protection, and then send our children out into situations where they may not be appreciated and understood for who they are. These are reasons why you need a copy of My Guncle and Me. Books that focus on the sacredness of each person, just as they are created, are necessary not only for affirming who each person is, but for representing what God calls us to be. A copy of this will not be wasted as part of your family library, in pew baskets, the spine of a children’s moment, and a selection for your bedtime stories and prayers ministry.