Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (HBO)

This book is age appropriate and a good story, while introducing a tough problem. It has cute, adorable characters to follow and care about, while introducing problem solving in the real world. I highly encourage parents to read this book to kids!

A great diverse story for all children that will entertain everyone without anyone losing sleep over.

I love the message this book brings. Very well written. Definitely recommend.

I suspect that if America eventually forgets everything else about "Last Week Tonight" (and I'd rue any day when that came to pass), John Oliver will have made his distinctive mark on pop culture with this innovation. So, even with all of their financial proceeds going to support AIDS United and the Trevor Project, this is a shrewd branding and publicity move from Oliver and Co. Not that there's anything wrong with a good show cementing its image and getting positive attention while spreading a worthy message!The cleverest part is that this book definitely qualifies as political satire, yet it is performed at a level--and with an underlying message--that works very well for children. I haven't come across many books that have been both so clearly ( to grown-ups) satirical and so child-friendly. Hence my referring to the book as innovative: while there are certainly kids' books, movies, or TV shows that also work on an adult level, I've yet to see one as overtly topical or as directly, unflinchingly focused on contentious and crucial concerns as Oliver's "Bundo".I'd just ask those who so vehemently disagree with the content of this book, firstly, to carefully reconsider calls for any writings or speech whose contents you may disagree with to be removed. Suppression of speech is rarely (if ever) a constructive problem solver, and any move to set a such a precedent cuts against the agency of a free and open society in which we can talk about things to learn from each other to continue developing our thinking. Secondly, would those who so clearly assert the right to determine what is appropriate for their own children please think of extending that choice to other families? Maybe you don't feel this book is suitable for your child, but other families feel just as strongly that this book can provide something of great value to their children, and they have just as much of a right (and a duty) to teach their children in the best ways they know how as do you.I can see the message of Oliver's "Bundo", despite or maybe even because of its specificity, resonating with both kids and adults long after our present leaders are washed away through history. This book may just be perfect for any young child who needs to know that love matters, and that their feelings are not only acceptable but are worthy of being embraced, honored, and protected by any society that fully values the well-being of all its members. And if Marlon and Wesley happen to amuse adult readers for other reasons while imparting this bit of truth, that's just a sublime bonus to nurturing a child's sense of self worth and compassion for others.

This book is precious and a wonderful lesson in not just tolerance but humanity. The artwork is beautiful, wholesome, old-school and telling if the story itself.I won't lie, I'm also a huge fan of the subtle and not so subtle digs at a vice president who is so far right it's not right. Pence has repeatedly espoused his intolerant beliefs and his out-right rejection of science, intelligence and human decency in favor of his fictional 1950's USA which wasn't so nice for most Americans including my families which had been here for almost a century but were held back by european ancestry and poverty and not part of his fabled, wonderful United States which was actually in the throes of the Korean war which his party started (not Lincoln's party because the Republican's switched ideologies with the Democrat's during the reconstruction following the Civil War which is basically how the Daughter's of the Confederacy put memorials in most American cities...even ones that were not part of America at the time) for practically no reason at all other than to stop the self-destructive ideology of communism which did, predictably, self-destruct.

This is not only a wonderful use of the real life public figure "Marlon Bundo" the Pence family's beloved pet rabbit, it is also a very good book! I don't mean that it's a good book just because it opposes Mike Pence and his bigoted views towards the LGBTQ community and diversity in general, I mean it's actually, and truly a very very good book. This whimsical tale is a wonderfully cute and fun read that promotes the values of friendship, the value of choice, and that it's OK to be different.(Also, despite what some delusional haters seem to be claiming, this book does NOT mention, specify or even elude to anything that is actually or even remotely or vaguely explicitly sexual in nature whatsoever. There is not one single mention of sex or anything pertaining to it to be found. As a child, we know that people fall in love and get married long before we know what they do in bed afterwards. In this vein of thought, Cinderella is just as guilty of whatever these people are accusing this story by Marlon Bundo of doing.)Anyways, we bought the Kindle Version and we also have a hard copy on the way. I've already read the book aloud to my children as well as my entire family (twice) and they all thoroughly enjoyed the experience, even the pets.After the first reading, one of my children actually said to me "That's beautiful" and I agreed. They then went on to tell me that it was also "almost" as beautiful as the fact that this book about the official Bunny of the Vice President of the United States of America "Marlon Bundo" depicts said bunny as being gay and wanting to marry a gay brown bunny, would surely annoy the Vice President and his family quite a lot, and that it's very obviously that they deserve to be annoyed by this book because they are so hateful towards gay people and and non whites. The saying really is true, kids say the darnedest things... They also know FAR more about what is going on than most adults give them credit for.So... This is the point in my initial review (this is my second attempt) that I referred to the great charities that this book is supporting as I was actually one of the first people to review this book as soon as it was released but I unwittingly broke the rules by posting external links to the charities that the proceeds from the sale of this book will be funding. So now I know... adding a link to a charity group (or anything else for that matter) will result in your review going into a sort of "limbo" state for a great deal of time, during which you cannot edit, delete or write a new review. So... for future reference, the 3 or 4 or other people reading this that may wish to add links to a review in the future and did not know it was against the rules, will now know that it will get your review declined.Either way, the charities that this book are supporting are far more specialized than "art therapy" which is what the Pence family chose to promote with their Lesser Bundo Book. In fact, I'm quite certain that "art therapy" is not even covered on my health insurance plan... Is it covered on yours? Perhaps it could help a person paint away the gay? Engage in a little scribbling and then erase the AIDS? I'm certain that art can quite seriously be a great form of therapy for some people, but does it truly need to be administered by a professional in order to achieve the desired results? I guess I will likely never know, as it is not covered on my insurance anyways...In contrast, the TREVOR Project and AIDS UNITED, the charities benefiting from the sale of THIS book, are devoted to helping other less fortunate bunnies that are also different like Marlon Bundo and/or may be fighting off something that is very terrifying and deadly. Artistry in this case, is of course, optional.To sum it all up, I highly recommend this book to ANYONE that can read or be read to regardless of age or species.

The illustrations are superb and I really wish I had some grandchildren or a niece/nephew to read it to.

Consigliato

A beautiful love story, witty and great to have book.Aside from having it because I’m a fan of John Oliver, the book is actually a great children’s book.

My 8 year old daughter and I loved it! Absolute laugh riot! Bought th kindle edition.Great fun book explaining the importance of choice, acceptance and democracy.

Much needed kind of children's book. There's no book of this kind here in Brazil. Besides, John Olivers's initiative is awesome.