Oratia Books To Publish NZ And Australia Edition Of International LGBTQI Books Banned In Hungary

Two board books for pre-school readers that have provoked a storm in Europe will be coming to New Zealand and Australia next month.

Hungary has fined a bookseller that stocks Bedtime, Not Playtime! and Early One Morning as its parliament introduces a ban on showing same-sex relationships in materials for people aged under 18. The European Commission has responded with legal action against Hungary for violations of the fundamental rights of LGBTQI people, related to the new law and the book banning.

Bedtime, Not Playtime! and Early One Morning feature rainbow families in stories that simply show them living their daily lives.

Author Lawrence Schimel condemned the Hungarian government as “trying to normalise hate and prejudice with these concerted attacks against books like mine.”

“In these stories, the fact that the parents are two mums or two dads is incidental to the story,” he said. “These families don’t only experience homophobia, they also have fun.”

Oratia Books is proud to bring these books to Australasia in August, and stands alongside Lawrence, Elīna and the 20 other publishers of the books around the world in condemning the actions of the Hungarian government.

THE AUTHORS

Lawrence Schimel is an American author and translator who writes in English and Spanish and has published over 120 books in a range of genres. He lives in Madrid, Spain, where he founded the local Society of Children’s Book Writers. Elīna Brasliņa is a rising star of children’s book illustration. Also a printmaker, she lives in Riga, Latvia.

Bedtime, Not Playtime! | Early One Morning by Lawrence Schimel, illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa

Published by Oratia, www.oratia.co.nz

Publication: 17 August 2021 | RRP $14.99

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