PAPA, DADDY, & RILEY

A little girl with two dads confronts homophobia.

When Riley’s parents drop her off at school, she calls, “I love you, Papa and Daddy,” as she waves goodbye. This prompts a classmate named Olive to challenge her. “One mom and one dad make a baby, and that makes a family,” Olive avers. “So which one is the real dad?” Holzwarth’s informal, friendly painting shows Riley looking hurt and confused, and as the day goes on, she thinks about her “belly mommy who gave birth” to her and about how she shares qualities with both of her dads, with black hair like Daddy’s and freckles like Papa’s. (Illustrations depict Riley, Daddy, and Riley’s belly mommy as people of color with brown skin and dark, wavy hair while redheaded Papa presents white.) When she goes home, Riley’s parents notice she is upset, and she shares what happened at school. Daddy and Papa comfort her and affirm that their family constellation is just one of many diverse possibilities, and a cluster of vignettes depicts a range of configurations. “But what makes a family a family, if every family is so different?” she asks. “LOVE” is the immediate answer, underscored by an illustration of the trio in a group hug, surrounded by bright, blooming flowers.

Sweet if not groundbreaking—and more to the point, sadly, still needed.