Modern 2SLGBTQ+ Representation

This Booklet Contains:

General information on the topic of Modern Representation of 2SLGBTQ+ people

Background information on each book, why they were banned, and discussion questions for you and your child

More Information You can Find Online
(Use the included QR code or visit the FFPLTC website)

More recent books on the topics discussed above

Further resources for you to talk about tough subjects with your child

...Being an Ally

Like talking about race and racism, some parents struggle with discussing 2SLGBTQ+ topics. Still, according to an Ipsos study that surveyed just over 19 000 people across 27 countries showed that 7% say they are only or mostly attracted to the same sex and 4% are equally attracted to men and women. While this is a minority, you are still likely to meet 2SLGBTQ+ families in your community. Here are on some tips to prepare for that discussion with your child:

Talk about 2SLGBTQ+ peoples and issues regardless of whether a child comes out as 2SLGBTQ+. This sets up the precedent that you are open to conversation.

Use an openhearted approach and be ready to speak and listen without judgement.

Focus on simple concepts while appearing comfortable speaking about these subjects in front of kids and start early with age-appropriate information.

Preschoolers: Focus on answering specific questions
without further details with simple and concrete
answers.

School-age kids: With kids this age beginning to
explore who they are in the world, the questions will
become more complex, so should your answers.

Be honest. Answer truthfully while keeping the above in mind. It’s also important to let kids know that you might not have all the answers to their questions, but you’re open to finding out with them.

Banned Books on Modern 2SLGBTQ+ Representation

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

A parent of a child in the Calgary Catholic School District complained about this picture book in 2006 on religious grounds, as the book features two male penguins raising a baby penguin in a zoo. In this case, the book was removed from the collection.

And Tango Makes Three discusses two male chinstrap penguin partners’ (Roy and Silo) adoption of Tango at the Central Park Zoo in New York City in 1998. This allows a look at a family that’s “different” from the usual without the baggage of human trappings, showing that unique families are not unique only to humanity. In fact, same-sex behavior has been observed in over 1000 species with much more research to be done. These animals include not only penguins, but monkeys, scarab beetles, and bats among others.

Questions for And Tango Makes Three

1. Are Roy, Silo, and Tango a family? How do you know if they are or not?

2. What kind of things make up a family?

3.Why did Mr. Gramzay give Roy and Silo an egg?

4. Was Tango happy with Roy and Silo? How can you tell?

5. Sometimes human couples adopt children. Are these children part of the family even though they came from a different set of parents? Why or why not?

6. Why do Roy and Silo try to hatch a rock?

7. Like Roy and Silo, some human couples are both men or both women. Does it matter if both parents are men or women? Why or why not?

In Our Mothers’ House by Patricia Polacco

This book might be a little long for younger children but tells the delightful story of “Meema” and “Marmee’s” adoption of three children, from infants all the way up to when they start their own families, from the perspective of their oldest child. We see the love the family has for each other through the ups and downs of life, including dealing with their homophobic neighbor Mrs. Lockner.

Questions for In Our Mothers' House

1. How is the family in the book like your own? How is it different?

2. Why is the house important to the
family?

3. How did the neighborhood come
together for the block party? Give multiple examples.

4. What happened with Mrs. Lockner at the end of the day? How did Meema and Marmee respond? What does it show about them?

5. What special role did the house continue to play in the kids’ lives?

This book was written by a multi-award-winning author in 2009 and depicts the lives of a family with two moms. A parent in the Davis School District (in the state of Utah) raised an objection against In Our Mothers’ House in January 2011 after her daughter brought it home from the library. This led to the book receiving restricted access at the library.

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer

In 2020, a patron wrote to the newspaper about unlabeled 2SLGBTQ+ books found in the children’s area of the Independence Public Library (in the state of Kansas). They stated that this book, along with other books such as And Tango Makes Three and Heather Has Two Mommies, should be labeled and removed from the children’s section. "There needs to be some kind of censorship on the books available to children. This is just a common-sense request”, they stated. She was invited to a library board meeting and in her letter, asked others to join her. All nine books she had attempted to challenge were retained.

Questions for Stella Brings the Family

1. How do you think Stella felt when her teacher announced their special Mother’s Day celebration?

2. How do you think you’d feel if you were Stella?

3. Why did Stella’s friends ask her who packs her lunch, reads her bedtime stories, and kisses her when she’s hurt?

4. What could the teacher have done to make everyone feel included?

5. Who did Stella bring to the celebration and why?

6. What other kinds of families are in Stella’s class?

7. What can we do to make sure that kids who feel different in certain situations don’t feel left out?

8. What do you think will happen on Father’s Day?

9. What do you think Howie, who has two moms, will do on Father’s Day?

Stella’s class is having a Mother’s Day celebration, but she doesn’t have a mother, she has two Dads! This book explores diverse families and focuses on themes of acceptance, love, and the true meaning of family.

More Picture Books about Modern 2SLGBTQ+ Representation

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle by Nina LaCour Follows how a little girl processes her Mommy being away for a week on a work trip, who just happens to be a family with two Mommies.

Miss Rita, Mystery Reader by Sam Donovan & Kristen Wixted Tori helps Daddy get ready to be the mystery reader for their class as Miss Rita. Tori is nervous that their class won't love Miss Rita as much as they do. Includes an author's note in the back about drag performance.

Our Subway Baby by Peter Mercurio and Leo Espinosa Details the real-life story of a gay couple who discover a baby abandoned in the New York subway and eventually adopt him.