More Diversity than Ever in LGBTQ-Inclusive Picture Books

Recent LGBTQ-inclusive picture books have been increasingly diverse in terms of family structure, race/ethnicity, and gender identity. They offer us stories that address specific LGBTQ concerns along with ones that simply include LGBTQ characters.

From Mainstream Publishers

Stella Brings the Family, by Miriam Schiffer (Chronicle Books) tells of a girl with two dads trying to figure out who to bring as a class guest on Mother’s Day. In some ways, it echoes Lesléa Newman’s classic Heather Has Two Mommies, in which a child deals with explaining her same-sex parents at school. Stella, however, takes a tone more like the recent, happily revised version of Heather, in which the problem is simply an interesting challenge and not (as in the original Heather) a cause for tears.

George Shannon’s One Family (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) uses simple counting verses to show the ways that many can be one, whether they be the bananas in a bunch or the members of a family. It depicts various family types, including multiracial families and ones with same-sex parents.

Suzanne Lang’s Families, Families, Families! (Random House) is more straightforward in explaining different family configurations, for example, “Some children have two mothers. Some children are adopted.” A welcome new volume conveying the old (but never tiring) message that love makes a family.

From a New Book Club

A new publishing initiative has also made its mark this year—the Flamingo Rampant Book Club created by author and activist S. Bear Bergman. For $100 per year, club members get an annual package of six “feminist, racially diverse, LGBTQ positive books” by various authors.

If this year’s crop is any indication, it’s a good investment. In Is That for a Boy or a Girl, by Bergman, short poems show children of many genders and various racial/ethnic identities making independent choices about clothes, toys, activities, and bathroom usage.

A Princess of Great Daring, by Tobi Hill-Meyer, tells of a transgender girl’s first day at school after transitioning. This is not a “problem” tale of transition, however—her friends are unfailingly supportive of her desire to be a princess in their game. The only hitch is when they then assume she wants to be rescued. Hill-Meyer gives us a much-needed vision of school-age trans acceptance, but also defies those who assume a trans girl will necessarily adhere to traditional feminine stereotypes.

In The Zero Dads Club, by Angel Adeyoha, a child with two moms and one being raised by a single mom (both, incidentally, children of color) tackle a similar issue to Stella—doing a Father’s Day project in class. They team up with a child that lives with a grandmother and an aunt, and one that lives with her Mama and Baba (the latter of whom identifies as a “butch”) to share their stories.

Love is in the Hair, by Syrus Marcus Ware, tells of a child staying with her gay uncles while waiting for the birth of a new sibling, and learning the stories of her family through the objects woven into the dreadlocks of one uncle’s hair. The uncles’ gayness is incidental; this is simply a charming tale of the way we collect, keep, and share family memories.

The Newspaper Pirates, by J. Wallace Skelton, is a fun romp about a boy (who is White) with two dads (one White, one Black) trying to figure out who is taking their newspaper. (Instructions for making a newspaper pirate hat included.)

M is for Mustache: A Pride ABC Book, by Catherine Hernandez, gives us an alphabet of Pride-related words through the eyes of a Filipino American child attending a parade with the many “titas,” or aunties, of her chosen family. This makes a good companion to last year’s This Day in June, by Gayle Pitman, which also gives us snapshots of a Pride parade.

Self-Published

While the quality of self-published efforts can vary widely, here are a few of note.

My favorite of these is the fantastical Large Fears. Myles Johnson’s rhythmic prose and Kendrick Daye’s striking visual images introduce us to Jeremiah Nebula, a Black boy who loves pink and wants to travel to Mars. To do so, he must overcome his fears, which he imagines as stars that each present an obstacle to his travels. His supportive mother tells him, “Everything you need is right inside of you.”

Also notable is Prince Henry, by British actor Olly Pike, based on a video from his “Pop ‘n’ Olly” Web series. It begs comparison to Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland’s 2002 King and King, but unlike its predecessor, assumes from the start that its prince might want to marry either a man or a woman. The difficulty for Prince Henry is that the man he loves is of a much lower social class. As expected, however, there’s a happily ever after.

Worth a look, too, is Rumplepimple, by Suzanne DeWitt Hall, about a dog owned by a two-woman couple who stands up for a child being bullied. It could use a bit of tightening, and some may object to the way the dog “put [his sister, a cat] in her place” for unspecified bossiness. (Too often girls are put down for “bossiness,” which in a boy is praised as “leadership.”) Nevertheless, many will enjoy its fun, dog’s-eye view of the world.

These stories are far from all there are to tell about LGBTQ families, but they feel like a much wider selection than we’ve ever had before. Enjoy them with your kids.