Marlon Bundo (Non-Pence version)

While I cannot compare them directly (I have not read Charlotte and Karen Pence’s book) but by description, reviews and having read Oliver’s book I am confident in saying that John Oliver and team have captured the imitation is the best form of flattery market with their version of the Vice President Pence (or his wife and daughter) book Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President. While you might not agree with Pence or Oliver views, this is a book that is needed by saying different is okay. It is in the vein of And Tango Makes Three, Sissy Duckling and King and King to name a few. This book, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, could have been a stand on its own title and did not necessarily need to be a spoof of the Pence’s book.

My only real complaint about this book is I would have liked to have seen more “different” portrayed. The fact there are two male otters together, two female bunnies together and two male bunnies together is great. But I would have liked to see things like an otter and a bunny together (to represent “bi-racial” couples) and would have liked to have seen a male and female hedgehog together and so forth. They do not have to be mentioned, have lines or be important to the story, but by just being there, it shows that there are all types of people and all are so-called “normal” and therefore, “okay.”  The fact that they show other types of different (one character eats their sandwich differently than most, the turtle is all jeweled up) also is a nice touch. You do not have to love the same sex to be different. We are all different in all sorts of ways.

I was nervous this book would be preachy, rude or poorly written. I rarely enjoy “celebrity books” due to those factors. But as mentioned, this is just a good book about being different. The fact it is very obviously not pro-Trump (after all that stink bug has some interesting hair) makes it not for everyone. Will it become a classic? Probably not. Its biggest draw is it is covering current events and people. This does not mean it will not be remembered, I just do not see it becoming part of the “Top 10 Books You Must Read if You Never Read Anything Else in Your Lifetime” list.