My favorite among these is probably Uncle Bobby's Wedding (Putnam, 2008), the story of a little girl guinea pig who becomes jealous when her favorite guinea pig uncle decides to marry his gay guinea pig boyfriend. I liked the book's incidental treatment of the uncles' sexuality — the fact that the two rodents are homosexual is not mentioned or problematized, but simply accepted as the premise.

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Though I don't have any plans to marry my boyfriend of eighteen years — and though all of my nieces actually like him better than me — I connected with the storyline on some personal level. And as the author of The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting (Crown, 2008) I support the primacy of Guncles in contemporary literature. But mostly I loved the book for its fashion. The gay Guinea Pigs have a sort of College Professor meets French Navy vibe to their daily style. Their longhaired male relatives rock a Walt Whitman look. And if my b.f. and I ever do decide to tie the knot, I'd want to don the exact nuptial outfits worn by Uncles Bobby and Jamie: tuxedo shirts, bow ties, tailed jackets, and no pants.

I also enjoyed the Dutch fable King & King (Tricycle, 2000), which follows a reigning Queen's confusion and disappointment when her son fails to show interest in the princesses she sets him up with — and her eventual acceptance when he falls for one of his suitoresses' brothers. The weird collage-y drawings are compelling, the tale of gay throne ascension is a nice way of underscoring the rights traditionally associated with marriage (inheritance, taxation, health insurance), and the story was simple and easy to follow. I'd want to don the same nuptial outfits: tuxedo shirts, bow ties, tailed jackets, and no pants.

The same cannot be said for the sequel King and King and Family (Tricycle, 2004) which mysteriously revolves around the royal gents going to Africa on their honeymoon and returning with a stolen native girl in their suitcase. For a much kinder and clearer exploration of gay adoption, I would recommend the adorable And Tango Makes Three (Simon & Schuster, 2005), a true story about a pair of male penguins (Roy and Silo) who — like many gay men — meet in Central Park, fall in love, build a nest, and try their damnedest to make a baby, before they're given a real egg of their own to sit on. The book highlights difference by underscoring similarity, it has a profound sense of love behind it, and it mentions — but does not go out of its way to explain — why a gay guy would fall in love with a dude named Silo. Plus, all the characters dress like Uncles Bobby and Jamie — in tuxes, with no pants — all the time.

Final on the marriage list is the lesbian wedding story Mom and Mum are Getting Married (Second Story, 2004) in which — like Canada, the country from which it originates — there is no drama or conflict, but simply frank acceptance. The book is notable for three things: the moms' hot '80s-inspired butch/femme wedding outfits, the T-shirt silkscreened with an ersatz suit that their young son wears to the ceremony, and the fact that the book was published with the financial support of the Canadian government. We have much to learn from our neighbors to the north.