But as far back as 1981, Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin by Suzanne Bösche was depicting queer family life for small children, establishing a precedent for a long line of books that followed: Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite, Molly’s Family by Nancy Garden (of Annie on My Mind fame), 10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert and Rex Ray, Large Fears by Myles Johnson and Kendrick Daye. The now-famous book about two penguin dads, And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, caused quite a stir when it was published: it topped the American Library Association’s list of challenged books in 2007, 2008, 2009, and reappeared again in 2011. Covert nods to varying sexual orientations and gender identities have long been disguised in children’s books, but in recent decades, challenges to heteronormativity have been more overt.
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