From toddler Heather and her two mommies, to a penguin couple looking for a child, these heartwarming and sweet children’s books will show your little one that all families deserve love and respect.
Heather Has Two Mommies
No book list for kids would be complete without Leslea Newman’s 1990 classic about tiny Heather and her two moms. First self-published in 1989, by the following year Heather became the first imprint from Alyson Wonderland books, the children’s division of Alyson Books, and was mentioned at least once on every 90s tv show. While the drawings may be a tiny bit dated, this much-banned classic of lesbian parenting is still a groundbreaking classic for a reason.
Mommy, Mama and Me
Also from Leslea Newman, this board book is fantastic and adorable, showing a day in the life of a baby raised by a lesbian couple. From long walks in the park to games at home, this toddler has a blast with her two moms. Newman’s gay-family counterpart, Daddy, Papa, and Me is equally as heartwarming, about a toddler’s with his two dads.
The Family Book
This colorful and sweet picture book from Todd Parr covers families in all their wonderful shapes, sizes, and differences. Gay and lesbian families are casually and gently included in this whimsical and simple book, geared at little ones from preschool to grade school. (April Claxton’s recent Goodnight Just the Same could go on the shelf right next to The Family Book.)
And Tango Makes Three
Loosely based on a true story, this 2005 picture book by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell follows two male penguins who fall in love in the Central Park Zoo and realize that their nest is “nice, but a little empty.” Enter Tango, the hatchling from an abandoned egg, who completes their little family. This is also great to show adopted kids that love – and not necessarily biology – makes a family.
