Several decades ago, the children's literature market lacked nearly any sense of diversity, and all kids had to be content with reading stories of white two-parent households--two straight parents, that is. But things changed in the late 1980s, when a woman approached author Leslea Newman on the street and asked her to write a children's book featuring two moms. By 1988, Newman had self-published Heather Has Two Mommies, and the door to lesbian-themed children's literature had been opened.

Heather Has Two Mommies is the story of a preschooler named Heather who is being raised by her two moms, Mama Jane and Mama Kate. One day at school, Heather becomes upset when she realizes that her parents are different from her classmates'; however, she eventually learns the valuable lesson that families are very different, and what's important is the love they have for one another.

In 1990, when a popular GLBT publishing house bought the rights to Newman's book, it set off a storm of controversy. Conservative senators like Jesse Helms called the story obscene, and attempted to ban “teaching acceptance of homosexuality” from all schools that received federal funding (the Senate voted 63 to 36 in his favor). Many parents were also outraged that the topic of artificial insemination was brought up, and ten years later Newman caved in to this pressure and removed Heather's conception and birth from subsequent reprints.

Despite cries about gay agendas and "teaching homosexuality", Heather Has Two Mommies started a diversity revolution, and fifteen years later, books about lesbian households are much easier to come by for children of all ages.

Some of these books also include topics such as adoption or artificial insemination. Unfortunately, books with racially diverse lesbians are harder to find, and stories that feature butch lesbians are non-existent.

The most useful books for lesbian moms and gay-friendly families fall into two categories: those that encourage general diversity, and those that explicitly feature lesbian family members.

Books that feature diverse families have become very popular in recent years, and they often depict nuclear, adoptive, same-sex, divorced, single parent, and racially diverse families in a side-by-side format. These books form a good foundation in any diverse library of children's literature, presenting young children with the basic idea that families are different, but they all love each other and should be respected.

Books with lesbian parents, though much more prevalent today, are still more difficult to find in public libraries or corner bookstores. However, these are the most important books for children with lesbian moms because with these stories, young children are able to relate to the characters and situations, while reaffirming the validity of their own family unit.

With estimates ranging from 2 to 8 million gay and lesbian parents in the United States , books featuring positive portrayals of same-sex households are vitally important to teaching tolerance, love, and diversity to all children.

Educators suggest that young children learn best when first presented with books that mirror their own lives, even if they are from traditional households. Here, GLBT-themed children's literature is most important to the roughly 7 million kids being raised by gay and lesbian parents.

However, books featuring diverse families and characters are important for all children. These stories present kids from traditional families with an alternative, while helping to explain and normalize the situations and lives of some of their culturally diverse peers. Additionally, children who come from atypical households, racial minorities, or other less-mainstream situations can relate on a personal level to these stories about being different.

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