Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents a Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Buy this book for all of your conservative friends! not because it will change their minds, but because it's funny to see just how bothered the "I don't get triggered" crowd can get from a children's book! ;-)

Just read this book to my youngest (was originally purchased for my eldest when she was 6. My youngest is now 5). He absolutely loved it and we talked about love and being different after we read it. Five years after purchase this is the book that keeps on giving great conversation starters with my kids of acceptance, love, and cute little animals.

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.

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.

I bought this book a few years ago when it first came out, bc I wanted to be supportive of it. My son at the time was 2, so it wasn’t time to read it to him. Well, he is almost 6, and he LOVES this story. The concept of love and acceptance is an easy one for young ones to understand, IF you are willing to let them. It didn’t lead into any awkward conversations, it didn’t make him instantly gay. All it did was teach him that people can love whoever they wish, and to deny them the right to marry each other makes you a big mean stink bug. Accurate description for those who try to use their religion or personal prejudice to spew hate, and deny anyone their rights.It’s a simple and lovely way to introduce a child to same sex relationships without it being too complex, or “suggestive” as some have called it.

hoptastic!

Loved the story, great illustration and all profits go to a worthwhile cause. Definitely worth getting a copy. Buy it.

What a charming book, with a lovely message. It's true, stink bugs are not forever. Happy to buy, and donate to deserving causes.

I'm going to start by adding in a slight caveat. I'm an adult, and I brought this book for another adult.As an adult reader, this is a great peice of satire. It's well written, the illustrations are absolutely beutiful, and you know exactly what the story is saying with regards to "certain" politicians in a "certain"country and their additudes towards "certain" things. It says what it wants to say in a really subtle way that's both charming and amusing (and hillarious in places).I thoroughly recomend it for anybody who wants a book that lampoons the intended target. I'm really glad that I brought it.But, and here's where the caveat comes in. This book is extremely subtle about it's source material (AKA, Mike Pence). As an adult who knows this context that everything is said in, this is a great book. But for a child who doesn't understand what is being said or why it is being said (EG, that's its satire) it sends out some confusing messages.Without going into spoiler terretory, there is a character who is apparently intollerent for absolutely no reason (You don't have to agree with Pence's reasons, but he does have them), and the book repeately insults and belittles the character, and makes out that this is an acceptable way to deal with intollerance. Essentially, if somebody is mean to you then you should be mean back to them.I'm warry about sending this as a message to children.Again, as an adult, I think that it's hillarious to Lampoon Pence in this way, and that it's justifiable as satire to have a book like this ... but it's not a good message to send to children who don't understand why the Pence character is being lampooned.

This arrived this morning and I read it in about five minutes, not having a child to share it with. It's quite delightful, and full of beautiful illustrations. It's a book with a serious point to make - that being different is not wrong, and that indeed each one of us is different in our own way, and it's nobody's business but our own. In this case, our hero's "difference" is that he's a gay rabbit who meets another gay rabbit, but is told they can't marry. Oddly enough, seeing the situation through the eyes of children and rabbits makes it seem all the more ridiculous that there should be barriers to love. Spoiler alert - despite the Stink Bug, there's a happy ending. I should imagine kids of all ages would respond well to what is a beautifully produced and presented book. My one and only cavil is that this modestly sized book came in the most ridiculous amount of packaging - a huge cardboard box stuffed with paper. Now I've got to get rid of all that, and so has the planet. The book could have come in a jiffy-bag.