The book's reception

Awards

• Winner, Stonewall Book Award—Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award
• A Top Ten Title, American Library Association Rainbow List
• Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society Awards
• Named one of the most important books of the last decade by The Advocate's “40 Under 40” list

(American Press Association)

General Recpetion

For most people, This Day In June seems to be doing exactly as it was designed to do: educating children on themes of Pride and beginning conversations around the S2LGBTQIA+ communities. It has been labeled by the New York Times as “the Pride primer.” From the many, many reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, people seem to be using this book for children as young as four to as old as pre-teens just under 13. One reader describes it as a “Party in the front, information in the back!” (Elizabeth, Goodreads). Many parents have praised it for the extra reading guide provided in the back of the book that helps them in leading these potentially difficult discussions with their children. 

"This Day In June adds a bright spot for diversity on any bookshelf, and will help bring the true colors and beautiful experience of LGBT pride to life for school age children and their families."

—Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Family Project

However, there are also those who have some issues with the book, primarily parents who are concerned with some of the visual elements, such as the lack of coloured couples, and the choice to make the crowd as a whole coloured white. Some critique certain elements of the Pride parade featured in the book, like shirtless people clad in leather (pages 9-10) and the inclusion of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (pages 10-11) and the religious “mockery” that their dress demonstrates (Colourful Book Reviews). 

“As an adult I can understand that they’ve adopted religious symbols as a protest against and mockery of groups that claimed to love everyone but were allowing some people to suffer terribly.  However, that’s a fairly complex discussion for a picture book!” - Colourful Book Reviews

Challenges

In 2018, the American Library Association (ALA) released its top 11 most challenged books list, with This Day in June being 10th on that list. Even more horrifying, the educational book was 42nd on ALA’s top 100 most challenged and banned books from 2010 - 2019. 

The children’s book, like many books containing 2SLGBTQIA+ content, was heavily frowned on by those who do not believe in same-sex relationships or non-gender conforming lifestyles. As This Day in June not only teaches and represents both of these lifestyles but also encourages acceptance and love towards those who practice them, it evoked outrage in those who are less tolerant. 

One instance in particular made headlines as it resulted in the burning of an edition of the book. 

On October 19th, 2018, Robert Dorr — director of religious group Rescue The Perishing — began a live stream on Facebook where he presented four childrens’s books on the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities that he had checked out of the Orange City Public Library in Orange City, Iowa. He claimed the library was “peddling” the books to children and that the library needed to repent. He burned the books, including This Day in June.

“My motive was to honor the Triune God in whom my faith resides and to protect the children of Orange City from being seduced into a life of sin and misery … I did it in such a way so as to exercise my freedom of speech and the freedom of my Biblical faith.” - Dorr (NBC News).

Dorr has since been found guilty of misdemeanour and ordered to pay approximately $147 in fines and court costs. In response to the crime Dorr committed, over 200 books were donated to the library, and several fundraisers were organized to replace the damaged books.

Sources

“Religious Activist Convicted for Burning LGBTQ Library Books.” NBC News, 7 Aug. 2019, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/religious-activist-convicted-burning-lgbtq-library-books-n1040051.