When Megan Went Away is a 1979 children's picture book written by Jane Severance (pictured) and illustrated by Tea Schook. The book, featuring lesbian parents, was the first picture book to include any LGBT characters. Published by Lollipop Power, an American independent press, the book depicts a child named Shannon dealing with the separation of her mother and her mother's partner, Megan. As a lesbian working in a feminist bookstore in Denver in her early twenties, Severance sought to rectify the lack of picture book content for children with lesbian parents in her community. When Megan Went Away was not widely distributed upon publication, although the text of the story was republished by the magazine Ms. in 1986 under the pen name R. Minta Day. The work proved divisive among critics. Some praised the story for being an anti-sexist example of lesbian life. Others found its depiction of same-sex separation poorly timed, arriving at a moment when lesbian motherhood was on the rise.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Megan_Went_Away

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1915:

First World War: Britain, France and Russia signed a secret treaty promising territory to Italy if it joined the war on their side. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_%281915%29

1933:

The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestapo

1989:

A tornado struck the Manikganj District of Bangladesh and killed an estimated 1,300 people, making it the deadliest tornado in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daulatpur%E2%80%93Saturia_tornado

1994:

Just before landing at Nagoya Airport, Japan, the copilot of China Airlines Flight 140 inadvertently triggered the takeoff/go-around switch, causing the aircraft to crash and killing 264 of the 271 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_140

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

DNA: 1. (biochemistry, genetics) Initialism of deoxyribonucleic acid (“a nucleic acid found in all living things (and some non-living things such as certain viruses) which consists of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix; encoded in its structure are genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction”). 2. (informal, loosely) The part of a living thing that carries genetic information. 3. (figuratively) The fundamental nature or values of a person, or an organization or other thing, especially when considered as innate and/or immutable. 4. (transitive) To examine a sample of (someone's) deoxyribonucleic acid. [...] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/DNA

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We still have wars and we still have poverty — as long as these things exist, there's always going to be something to do. But that cannot distract from the fact that we're on the way.   --Harry Belafonte https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Belafonte