[2] In its early years, Heather Has Two Mommies garnered both positive and negative attention due to the lesbian themes present in the book.
[7] Later, the book was picked up by Candlewick Publications and the original illustrations were replaced in post-2015 editions by Laura Cornell, who made one of Heather's moms look like Lesléa Newman.
[7] According to Jennifer Esposito, a professor at Georgia State University, Leslea Newman attempts to normalize the lesbian family structure in Heather Has Two Mommies but seems to have done just the opposite.
Because parents were writing complaints about not reading the book to their children due to the scene, she decided to omit the section altogether in her 10th edition.
[11][12] Scholars Brianna Burke and Kristina Greenfield argue that Heather Has Two Mommies can create a school environment of tolerance and inclusion of members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
[11] In addition, scholar Selena Van Horn explains that by presenting elementary school students with books that challenge heteronormativity.
In it, the parallel-universe Miss Singerbrains (the school librarian) invites the two main characters, George and Harold, to read the book Mommy Has Two Heathers.
[14] Newman claims they were unsuccessful in their attempts, and instead paid for advertisements in local newspapers to convince citizens to vote against the construction of 5 new libraries in the Fayetteville area.
[14] According to Jennifer Steele, Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science at The University of Southern Mississippi, another example of an attempted banning of the book took place in Wichita Falls, Texas.
[15] With the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, a countersuit was brought forth after the book restrictions were enforced, eventually leading to the Sund v. City of Wichita Falls, Texas (2000) court case.
[17] Additionally, researchers April M. Sanders and Janelle B. Mathis from the University of North Texas have concluded that in order to combat censorship and discrimination in LGBTQ+ literature, young readers, instructors, and parents must learn how to change their attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals.