''Hello, Sailor'' () is a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

by Ingrid Godon and André Sollie (illustrated by Godon). It was first published in the Netherlands in 2000, and in 2003 in the United Kingdom by

Macmillan Books Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

. It was one of the books cited in newspaper articles as being "forced upon schools" in the controversy in England in the implementation of the Equality Act in 2006.M. Brettingham
"New storm brews over gay books"
''The

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

'', p. 6, 2006-10-20 The

Christian Institute The Christian Institute (CI) is a charity operating in the United Kingdom, promoting a conservative evangelical Christian viewpoint, founded on a belief in Biblical inerrancy. The CI is a registered charity. The group does not report numbers of ...

argues that this legislation effectively forces schools to include books with homosexual characters in school curricula, although government officials and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

advocates argue that no coercion exists. This children's book centres on a lighthouse keeper called Matt and his friend, Sailor, whom he deeply misses. Whilst Sailor is at sea, Matt plans to sail round the world with him if and when he finally returns, which Matt, convinced by his friends Felix and Rose, thinks is doubtful. However, Matt and Sailor eventually are reunited, and sail off together. This book is perceived to be a thinly veiled story of male homosexuality.

Kate Kellaway Kate Kellaway (born 15 July 1957) is an English journalist and literary critic who writes for ''The Observer''. Early life The daughter of the Australians Bill and Deborah Kellaway, she is the older sister of the journalist Lucy Kellaway. B ...

"Moral Compass"
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', 9 Feb 2003 A review of ''Hello, Sailor'' featured in the British lesbian magazine ''

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

''. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' described ''Hello, Sailor'' as "A charming and heartwarming tale", whilst ''

'' remarked that it is "A beautiful book...it makes – just as it should – the love between two men as natural and deep as any other."

Notes

2000 children's books Children's books with LGBTQ themes 2000s LGBTQ literature 2000 LGBTQ-related literary works {{LGBT-book-stub