In the late 1980s, when Leslea Newman set out to write a children's book depicting a lesbian family at the behest of a friend, she had no idea that her small project would mushroom into a national controversy that would continue for a decade. That book, "Heather Has Two Mommies," recently reissued by Alyson Wonderland (the children's division of prominent gay publishing house Alyson Publications), has been one of the most banned books in the country over the last 10 years, all because of a character named Heather who does, indeed, have two mommies.

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Causing a Commotion

The content of the book itself has almost become lost in the uproar. A girl named Heather has two mothers, Mama Jane and Mama Kate, a carpenter and a doctor, respectively. With illustrations by Diane Souza, Newman shows how Heather learns about the meaning of family. At school one day, other children are telling about what their mommies and daddies do. Heather is puzzled and begins to cry because she doesn't have a daddy, but then learns that her classmates come from all different kinds of families, some large, some small, some traditional and some non-traditional. In the words of Heather's teacher, "The most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." That seemingly harmless message set off a wellspring of controversy.

Antigay activists and politicans were determined not to have "Heather" and books like it (such as "Daddy's Roommate" by Michael Willhoite) brought into schools. In 1994, Senators Robert Smith and Jesse Helms, who decried the book as "obscene" and "disgusting," co-sponsored a bill to ban schools receiving federal funds from carrying out programs that "have the purpose or effect of encouraging or supporting homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative." "Heather" was used as a prime example of such threatening material. When asked about the alarm the book has raised, Newman says, "The book is no more a book about sexuality than a book about a mom and a dad is about sexuality. But people see what they want to see. Many people have a certain agenda and they can read a lot of things into the book that aren't there."

A common argument against the use of "Heather" in classrooms and public libraries has been the use of tax dollars to purchase it. Newman responds: "What about my tax dollars? I think parents have enormous expectations for their children—generally, they want them to grow up and have certain values and live their life a certain way. But I think that some parents have a false idea that they can control their children's lives and destinies, when the truth of the matter is they can't." At the same time, she dismisses the notion that simply reading a book about a gay family will "make" someone gay. "After all, I grew up reading books that all had straight characters," quips Newman.

The Power of Books

One of the main reasons Newman decided to write the book was to provide an image for lesbian moms and their children. The author likens the dearth of similar imagery in popular culture to her own Jewish childhood: "I think a book can be an enormous comfort to a child, and to see a family like yours in a book can make all the difference. I didn't have that as a child, and many kids of gay and lesbian parents don't have that experience. I can only imagine from how I felt growing up, when, in the lobby of my elementary school, there was a Christmas tree. I think that's small potatoes compared to where every child in a classroom sees representations of a child with a mommy and a daddy, and your family isn't like that."

The original edition contained information on Heather's conception and birth, which has been removed for the 10th anniversary edition. Newman had heard from many parents who said they would have wanted to bring "Heather" into the classroom but felt that that information was unnecessarily graphic for small children. However, the author doesn't think this will stem hostility toward the book. "I think it will be easier to bring the book to your kid's class and read it at storytime now. But anyone who is opposed to lesbians having children won't care one way or the other about the new version of the book." —Rachel Kramer Bussel