Homosexuality in children's literature

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Homosexuality in children's literature covers children's books that include mention of homosexuality. With an increase in mainstream acceptability of homosexuality, the publication of such books has increased, though it faces challenges.

Compared to the "explosion" of gay and lesbian teen fiction, sales of gay-themed books for younger children in public and school libraries remain "very dicey and very different." ^[1]

Heather Has Two Mommies, published in 1989, was an early children's book that dealt with homosexuality.

Some of the best known children's books with gay themes include Heather Has Two Mommies (1989) and Daddy's Roommate (1991), published by Alyson Books. Both books discussed same-sex parenting, and attracted criticism and controversy for their portrayal of homosexuality as normal and for targeting their books towards children.

Jenny lives with Eric and Martin, originally published in Danish as Mette bor hos Morten og Erik, was in 1981 one of the earliest children's books to address homosexuality. It tells the story of Jenny and her fathers and their daily life. Controversy and politicization followed the publication of the book.

A more recent book that has attracted controversy is King & King, originally written in Dutch and published in English in 2002, for not portraying homosexuality negatively. The book is about a prince uninterested in princesses, who eventually falls in love with another prince. In 2006, parents sued a Massachusetts school district after a teacher read the book to a second grade class that included their son. ^[2]^[3]