Heather Has Two Mommies

The idea for Heather Has Two Mommies was not Newman's own.[5] While out for a walk, Newman was approached by lesbian parents and asked to write a children's story about a family like theirs.[5] The parents explained that there were no books that they could show their daughter that portrayed the life of a family with lesbian parents.[5] According to "The More Things Change" Newman wrote the story for this purpose, but did not expect the book to gain widespread controversy.[5] The book was originally co-published by Newman and her friend Tzivia Gover under the auspices of Gover's desktop publishing business, "In Other Words, Ink".[6] Six months after the book's publication in December 1989, it was picked up by Alyson Publications.

Alyson Publishing brought out a Special 20th Anniversary edition in 2010; the company folded that same year. The book went out of print for a time.[7] Later, the book was picked up by Candlewick Publications, who suggested replacing the original black and white illustrations to make the book more modern and kid- friendly.The post-2015 editions feature art by illustrator Laura Cornell, who gave Heather cute purple cowboy boots and made one of her moms look like Newman herself.[8]

The book is about a child named Heather who is raised by lesbian women: her biological mother, Jane, who gave birth to her after artificial insemination, and her biological mother's same-sex partner, Kate. At Heather's playgroup, her family situation is discussed simply and positively, as are those of other children in other family units.[9] At first, Heather becomes upset when she realizes that many of her other peers at the playgroup have a daddy and she does not. Molly, the caretaker at the playgroup, ensures that all the children at the playgroup understand that all families are special and no family type is better than any of the others.[10] By the end of the book, Heather's sadness goes away and she expresses gratitude for her mothers.[10]

The American Library Association ranked it the 9th most frequently challenged book in the United States in the 1990s.[11]

The book and the controversy over it were parodied in the 2006 Dav Pilkey book Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People. In it, the parallel-universe Miss Singerbrains (the school librarian) invites the two main characters, George and Harold, to read the book Mommy Has Two Heathers.[11]

According to Jennifer Esposito, a professor at Georgia State University, Leslea Newman attempts to normalize the lesbian family structure in Heather Has Two Mommies but seems to have done just the opposite.[17] When Heather acknowledges that she does not have a daddy it makes her sad. Esposito argues that because Heather gets upset that she does not have a father instead of wondering why she has two mothers, it portrays that there is a problem with having two mommies.[17] Furthermore, Esposito believes that Heather Has Two Mommies "dequeers" lesbian households by making them equivalent to heterosexual households.[17] She believes that this does a disservice to those children that live in those households because their experience in the real world is a lot different than what is portrayed in the story.[17] Esposito thinks that books dealing with lesbian families should take the approach of informing people that these households are just as normal as other households while at the same time addressing the unique problems they face.[17] Similarly, Esposito admonishes the manner in which queer relationships are presented. Rather than focusing on the queer relationship, Heather’s mothers are used more so as a learning experience for heterosexuals.[17]

According to Jaime Naidoo, a scholar in children's queer literature, Newman included the depiction of artificial insemination in the first edition of the book, meaning that this book was the first to portray a lesbian couple deliberately planning the birth of their child.[18] However, Newman later explained her regret in incorporating this detail into the book. Because parents were writing complaints about not reading the book to their children due to the scene, she decided to omit the section altogether in her 10th edition.[18] Many believed the book was aimed at adults because of the artificial insemination sequence, although the book was intended to be child friendly.[19]

According to editor Cat Yampell, though Heather has Two Mommies has faced backlash and criticism, the book has also received praise. For example, Newman explains that multiple presses have expressed interest in more manuscripts, including queer stories.[19] Seeing as publishers are becoming more comfortable in asking for more queer content, it seems like Heather has Two Mommies has helped queer children’s literature become more accepting.[18]

In addition, researchers argue that books such as Heather has Two Mommies can be beneficial in the educational setting.[20][21] Scholars Brianna Burke and Kristina Greenfield argue that Heather Has Two Mommies can create a school environment of tolerance and inclusion of members of the LGBTQIA+ community.[20] In addition, scholar Selena Van Horn explains that by presenting elementary school students with books that challenge heteronormativity. They can gain new perspectives on diverse family structures and critically question their prior knowledge on LGBTQIA+ related topics.[21]

• Homosexuality in children's literature
• Daddy's Roommate – a book that portrays a gay couple in a similar positive light. It became a point of discussion in the 2008 US presidential election.[22]
• Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin – a similar book that caused controversy in the United Kingdom.
• The Rainbow Cubby House – an Australian book with similar themes.
• "Bart Has Two Mommies" – an episode of The Simpsons parodying the controversy.

• Fahrenbruck, Mary L.; Collins, Tabitha Parry (2019). "The De-queering of Heather Has Two Mommies". In Johnson, Holly; Mathis, Janelle; Short, Kathy G. (eds.). Critical Content Analysis of Visual Images in Books for Young People: Reading Images. New York: Routledge. pp. 227–244. doi:10.4324/9780429426469-13. ISBN 978-1-138-38706-5. S2CID 195522395.
• Mason, Derritt (2020). "What Having Two Mommies Looks Like Now: Queer Picture Books in the Twenty-First Century". In op de Beeck, Nathalie (ed.). Literary Cultures and Twenty-First-Century Childhoods. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 109–137. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-32146-8_6. ISBN 978-3-030-32146-8. S2CID 226427378.