Like many kids, Pepito has not yet made a friend at school, so he comforts himself by carrying his favorite doll in his backpack. Every night he prays to make a friend and one day his prayers are answered when he finds the perfect friend. Written in English and Spanish, the book has a powerful message for kids who feel they are different.
In fact, each of us is totally unique — we are supposed to be different from everyone else. Boys playing with dolls or kitties or puppies is not such a big deal after all. Playing with dolls doesn’t have to mean a person is gay.
Many boys, including Selena’s fashion designer Martin Gomez and my own brother –both of whom are in straight marriages now — enjoyed playing with dolls. In my brother’s case, he really had no choice when the family would get together if he wanted to play with us — he was the only male cousin, so he played dolls with us, pretending to be the father. No one made a big deal of it, so it wasn’t a big deal. The experience may have even made them more nurturing fathers, which dovetails nicely with the lesson of “Pepito Has a Doll.”
