Sarah S. Brannen, a children’s author and illustrator, published her first book, about a young girl’s anxiety surrounding her favorite uncle’s wedding, in 2008. She wrote it for her niece, who told Brannen she thought the ending of every story should be wrapped neatly in a bow, with two people in love living happily ever after.

Nearly 20 years later, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” is at the center of a Supreme Court case that could decide whether parents may opt their children out of elementary school lessons with LGBTQ storybooks.

The justices, who this week heard oral arguments in the case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, appear inclined to side with a group of parents arguing their Maryland school district’s lack of an opt-out option substantially burdens their First Amendment rights to freely exercise their religion.

The parents, who fall on a spectrum of religious beliefs, are not challenging their school district’s curriculum or asking for books to be banned. But some LGBTQ and free speech groups have said a ruling siding with the parents could set a troubling precedent and affect more than just LGBTQ-related content.

“I can’t begin to express how surreal it was for me when they first started talking about my book,” Brannen said in an interview following Tuesday’s arguments. “I’m a children’s book author and illustrator. This — this just doesn’t happen. I almost felt dizzy. I had to sit down.”

In “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” a young Chloe learns that her Uncle Bobby has proposed to his boyfriend, Jamie. Her initial disappointment about the union, which she fears will mean Bobby no longer has time for her, is replaced with excitement after she spends time with Jamie, discovering that having two uncles will be even better than one.

Brannen, who began working on the book in 2004 after her home state of Massachusetts became the first to recognize and license same-sex marriages, said she had been prepared for challenges when the title first landed on shelves. Months after its........

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