Know more. John K. Horany, Law Office of John K. Mark T. Price, Wichita Falls, TX, for defendants. Both are children's picture books β Heather is a page black and white book, and Daddy's Roommate is 32 pages in color β written for very young children about the subject of children who have gay and lesbian parents. Daddy's Roommate was awarded the Lamba Literary Award for children's books aimed at readers ages The two Books have been endorsed by educators, psychologists, and librarians.
Indeed, Linda Hughes β the Library Administrator of the Wichita Falls Public Library β feels strongly that Heather and Daddy's Roommate are "a wonderful way to explain to children that you may live in a different lifestyle, but the important thing is people love you.
As discussed below, the City Council of Wichita Falls β by a four to three vote β passed a Resolution which gave people with library cards the right to censor Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy's Roommate , by having these Books removed from the children's section of the Library and placed in the adult book section. That is, the Library's Collection Manager had received more than four requests that the titles be considered for purchase β and there had been multiple Inter-Library Loan requests for the Books.
Before the purchase, both the Collection Manager and Library Administrator, Linda Hughes, had checked professional reviewing publications and recommended bibliographies of youth materials for titles on the subject of homosexual parents. Daddy's Roommate was the first book written for children of gay men. The full-color illustrations depict a boy, his father, and his father's partner "as they take part in activities familiar to all kinds of families: cleaning the house, shopping, playing games, fighting, and making up.
The colorful characters with their contemporary wardrobes and familiar surroundings lend the tale a stabilizing air of warmth and familiarity. When she joins a playgroup and discovers that other children have "daddies, ' her confusion is dispelled by an adult instructor and the other children who describe their own different families," such as Joshua, who has a mommy and stepfather, and David, whose two brothers and sisters are not the same color as he is because they are all adopted.
