I’m pretty sure that LGBT parents will be happy to know that there are bedtime stories that can reflect their family setup.

In artful mixtures of pastel-colored illustrations and rhythmic, playful voices, these books feature a day in a life of a lesbian and a gay couple. Mommy, Mama, and Me is a simple glimpse at how two mothers care for their kid. Writer Leslea Newman and illustrator Carol Thompson created a twosome of such books, focusing on lesbian and gay parents separately. In its wake, many other gay-centric picture books were drawn and penned.

Not so long ago, we heard about Peter Parnell’s controversial children’s book And Tango Makes Three, a true story about a pair of male Penguins in Central Park Zoo raising a chick. Currently, she is the Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA. From 2005-2009, Lesléa was a faculty member of the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Newman is a popular guest lecturer, and has spoken on college campuses across the country including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Oregon, Bryn Mawr College, Smith College and the University of Judaism. Her award-winning short story, A Letter To Harvey Milk has been made into a film and adapted for the stage. Newman explores include AIDS, eating disorders, butch/femme relationships and sexual abuse.

She is also the author of many books for adults that deal with lesbian identity, Jewish identity and the intersection and collision between the two. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first children's book to portray lesbian families in a positive way, and has followed up this pioneering work with several more children's books on lesbian and gay families: Gloria Goes To Gay Pride, Belinda's Bouquet, Too Far Away to Touch, and Saturday Is Pattyday. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists. She has received many literary awards including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and two Pushcart Prize Nominations. Lesléa Newman (born 1955, Brooklyn, NY) is the author of over 50 books including Heather Has Two Mommies, A Letter To Harvey Milk, Writing From The Heart, In Every Laugh a Tear, The Femme Mystique, Still Life with Buddy, Fat Chance and Out of the Closet and Nothing to Wear.

Daddy papa and me by leslea newman