2019 Holiday Gift Guide to LGBTQ Children’s Books

It’s time for my annual gift guide to some of the year’s best LGBTQ-inclusive children’s picture and middle-grade books—more than three dozen of them!

Family and Relationships

A Plan for Pops, by Heather Smith and illustrator Brooke Kerrigan (Orca Books), is the touching story of Lou, an overall-clad, gender ambiguous child who loves visiting their grandfathers, a biracial couple. Lou must figure out how to help when one grandfather is confined to a wheelchair and won’t leave his room. Evocative prose and a big dose of family love. (Full review.)

Caldecott Honor and Ezra Jack Keats Honor winner Bao Phi’s My Footprints, illustrated by Basia Tran (Capstone), tells of a Vietnamese American girl who gets teased by classmates about her two moms and told to “go back where I come from.” She finds solace in imitating wild creatures and her moms draw on their own cultural identities (Vietnamese American and Hindu) to help her pretend. A lyrical tale about finding strength in imagination, family, and heritage. (Full review.)

Ghost’s Journey: A Refugee Story, by Robin Stevenson (Rebel Mountain Press), is based on the true story of a same-sex couple who fled from Indonesia to Canada from fear of persecution. Stevenson tells the tale from the perspective of their cat, Ghost, and her thoughtful prose captures the family’s journey with just the right amount of detail for young readers. (Full review.)

I Am Perfectly Designed, by Queer Eye star Karamo Brown and his grown son Jason “Rachel” Brown, with illustrations by Anoosha Syed, gives us a gentle yet affirming conversation between a young Black boy and his father about their life together, as they walk through their vibrant, multicultural, queer-inclusive neighborhood. (Full review.)

Maiden & Princess, by Daniel Haack and Isabel Galupo, with illustrations by Becca Human (Little Bee), tells of a maiden who falls in love with a princess at a multiracial royal court. A welcome addition to the genre of LGBTQ-inclusive fairy tales and books about women in control of their lives and loves. (Full review.)

Love Makes a Family, by Sophie Beer (Dial Books), is a cheery board book in the vein of many others that showcase family diversity, but stands out for the fun, dynamic, and gently humorous illustrations. We see single, same-sex, and different-sex parents and their children going through their days in this joyful look at family life.(Published in the last week of 2018, so I’m slipping it in here. Full review.)

My Two Moms and Me and My Two Dads and Me, by Michael Joosten and illustrator Izak Zenou (Doubleday), are board books that depict the everyday lives of children with same-sex parents. While they stick with a formula used in two previous LGBTQ-inclusive board book pairs (Mommy, Mama, and Me and Daddy, Papa, and Me by Lesléa Newman and Hugs of Three: My Mommies and Me and Hugs of Three: My Daddies and Me, by Stacey Bromberg and Joe Taravella), they are upbeat and stylish. (Full review.)

Princess Puffybottom . . . and Darryl, by Susin Nielsen and illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller (Tundra), is the tale of a pampered cat competing for attention with a new and rambunctious puppy. After being disgusted by some of the pup’s habits, like drinking from the toilet, Princess Puffybottom comes to realize that the little guy in fact worships her and may have his uses. Just as she settles in to thinking things are back to normal, however, we find out what the two humans of the house, a Black woman and an Asian woman, have been preparing for: a new baby. A “sibling rivalry of pets” tale in the vein of Pickles & Ocho (my review here), but with the added bonus of the same-sex couple bringing home a human child, too. The captivating personality of Princess Puffybottom—and her awesome name—makes this book particularly shine.

Family Is a Superpower (Capstone, 2019), by Michael Dahl and illustrator Omar Lozano, shows Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and other DC Comics’ heroes, along with a diverse group of everyday children and parents, demonstrating aspects of the one superpower that outshines all others–the power of family. A two-dad family is included. (Full review.)

You Began as a Wish, by Kim Bergman and illustrator Irit Pollak, offers a simple explanation of assisted reproduction, inclusive of same-sex, transgender, and nonbinary parents. For 30 years, Bergman, a licensed psychologist, has been helping LGBTQ clients and others have children through assisted reproduction. She has distilled her wealth of knowledge to create this melodic book appropriate for even the very youngest children. (Full review.)

My Mommy, My Mama, My Brother, and Me: These Are the Things We Found By the Sea, by Natalie Meisner, with illustrations by Mathilde Cinq-Mars (Nimbus), is a joyous book about a family’s explorations by the seaside. The fact that they have two moms is incidental. Some of the rhymes bounce awkwardly, but with beautiful drawings and a theme of family and friendship, this is likely to find many fans.

In My Friends and Me: A Celebration of Different Kinds of Families, by Stephanie Stansbie and illustrated by Katy Halford (Tiger Tales), the child narrator takes readers on a tour of her friends’ houses and families. We see ones with two dads, two moms, a single mom, divorced/separated parents, and more. The narrator appears to live with her grandparents (or at least spend time with them). The cheery illustrations add light humor in a few places, as does the narrator’s final observation that grown-ups are “fantastic at loving us,” but “not so great at dancing.”

I Promise, by Catherine Hernandez and illustrated by Syrus Marcus Ware (Arsenal Pulp Press), shows us a child getting ready for bed and asking their parent where their friend with two dads came from. The parent, with dark skin like their child, answers respectfully, notes other types of families within their community, such as those with same-sex parents, single parents, and more than two co-parents, and conveys the message that all families begin with love.

You Be You: The Kid’s Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family, by Johnathan Branfman (Jessica Kingsley Publishers), covers topics of identity, relationships, family, discrimination, privilege, intersectionality, and being an ally. That’s a lot to pack into just over 70 pages, but this slim hardback manages to do so while also affirming kids’ own identities and expressions. A few explanations could be better (see my full review), but overall, this is a handy, helpful, and supportive one-volume overview of gender, sexuality, and family structure.

Following up on last year’s picture book What Does a Princess Really Look Like (my review here), author Mark Loewen and illustrator Ed Pokoj bring us The True Colors of a Princess Coloring Book, another look at the life of protagonist Chloe, a girl with two dads who imagines being a princess. Most of the images are of Chloe, but a few are of her and her dads, who support and encourage her and remind her that “Everyone makes mistakes—even princesses!” (Full review.)

In Kenny Lives with Erica and Martina, by Olly Pike, Kenny lives with his two moms in a world of gray. The family welcomes two new neighbors, Jenny and Hassan, who bring color—a literal spectrum of colors—to the gray community. Other neighbors, however, shun the newcomers because they are different. Kenny tries to show the neighbors that being different is not something to be afraid of. While Kenny makes some progress, aided by a gift from Jenny and Hassan, it is too late for Jenny and Hassan themselves, who have moved out. That’s not exactly a happy ending, but feels unfortunately realistic. There’s a lot here to discuss. What constitutes difference? How can we each be different in multiple, intersecting ways? What are some of the effects of racism and other forms of bias on their targets and the community? How can we be more inclusive and welcoming of those who are different from us? (Full review.)

The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, by Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby, offers a biography of the children’s book author (Goodnight Moon) and acknowledges that she loved both a woman and a man.

Pride

Robin Stevenson’s Pride Colors board book (Orca) turns the meanings of the colors in the Pride flag into a poem from parent to child, coupled with images of babies and toddlers and sometimes their two moms or dads. “Yellow sunshine, smiles so bright. I’ll hug you, kiss you, hold you tight,” says one spread. There’s a mention of “Pride Day fun,” but the sentiments extend far beyond a single day or month. (Full review.)

Rainbow: A First Book of Pride, by Michael Genhard and illustrated by Anne Passchier (Magination Press, 2019), uses essentially the same concept, but in a more literal way. “Red means life,” it says, showing a red-laden image of two dads happily holding their newborn. It continues through all the colors of the rainbow and ends with a spread of families waving rainbow flags. It’s a less warmly personal book than Stevenson’s, but makes a bright introduction to the colors of Pride and images of LGBTQ families. (Full review.)

Our Rainbow, by Little Bee Books (2019) and a variety of artists, is a board book published in partnership with LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD, and again takes a similar approach. It shows the meanings of the colors as exemplified through simple acts of kindness—but also includes brown and black, colors that many are now adding to the rainbow flag to honor racial diversity.

Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution, by Rob Sanders and illustrator Jamey Christoph (Random House), uses the perspective of the Stonewall Inn itself to immerse readers in the setting and avoid privileging any one LGBTQ person’s perspective on what happened. It is not a tale of walls and bricks, however, for the Inn’s narration focuses on the people in its neighborhood, and Christoph’s evocative illustrations capture their diversity of race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. (Full review.)

Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy, is a board book written and illustrated by Joy Yang and produced in partnership with GLAAD, which organizes the annual Spirit Day. It begins by urging readers to “Put on a purple shirt. It’s Spirit Day! Today’s a day to be SUPER-kind and stand up to bullying!” and then offers simple ways to practice kindness. While saying that spreading joy is one way to stop bullying may sound naive to adult ears, the overall message feels like it fits the target age group of zero- to three-year-olds. Yang’s bold, colorful illustrations show multiracial characters that include a two-mom family, as well as several children who could be read as gender creative. The book’s message of kindness and support for others shouldn’t be confined to one day a year. (Full review.)

Gender Identity and Expression

When Aidan Became a Brother, by Kyle Lukoff and illustrator Kaylani Juanita (Lee & Low), is a joyous tale about a biracial (Black and South Asian) transgender boy awaiting the birth of his new sibling. What sets this book apart from many others is that rather than Aidan’s gender identity offering only challenges to be overcome, it is instead a source of strength and wisdom as he plans for being a good brother. (Full review.)

Also by Lukoff are the first two books in a delightful new series (series!) about a transgender boy, Call Me Max and Max and the Talent Show, with illustrations by Luciano Lozano (Reycraft Books). The first shows Max facing the challenges of a first day at school, including not being welcome in either the boys’ or girls’ bathrooms. He speaks up for himself, however, and finds support—while also having some of his own preconceptions about gender gently changed by two friends. The second book shows Max helping his friend Stephen, who likes to wear dresses but identifies as a boy, get ready for the talent show.

In They, She, He easy as ABC, by Pura Belpré Honor Award winner Maya Gonzalez and Matthew Smith-Gonzalez (Reflection Press), we meet an alphabet of friends, mostly children of color, who use a variety of pronouns and dance their way from A to Ze. The reader is then invited to “Join the dance. There’s always room.” (Full review.)

Ho’onani Hula Warrior, by Heather Gail and illustrator Mika Song (Tundra), is based on the true story of a Native Hawaiian child who feels neither wahine (girl) or kane (boy) and who wants to join the school performance of a traditional kane hula chant. An empowering story of a child navigating and finding strength in both gender and cultural identities. (Full review.)

In Sam!, by Dani Gabriel and illustrator Robert Liu-Trujillo (Penny Candy Books), a nine-year-old transgender boy finds support from his older sister and parents when he tells them he’s not a girl. Sam and his family read as Latino and they live in a racially diverse neighborhood. A warm story of sibling support and family love. (Full review.)

The protagonist of What Riley Wore, by Elana K. Arnold and illustrator Linda Davick (Simon & Schuster), loves to dress up in ball gowns, hard hats, and bunny costumes. When another child asks, “Are you a girl or a boy?” Riley simply answers, “Today I’m a firefighter. And a dancer,” and several other fanciful things. Arnold conveys a message of acceptance without raising issues of teasing or bullying—important issues, but too often the only narrative about children expressing gender creativity. The completely positive approach here is refreshing. (Full review.)

In Ogilvy, by Deborah Underwood and illustrator T. L. McBeth (Henry Holt), the titular and gender ambiguous bunny moves to a new town, where the other children say that bunnies in sweaters must do certain things, while those in dresses do others. Ogilvy’s medium-length garment confuses them. Ogilvy relabels the outfit at will and plays accordingly, until one day the other bunnies demand a fixed choice. Ogilvy convinces them that everyone benefits from wearing and doing what each chooses. (Full review.)

Jacob’s Room to Choose, by Sarah and Ian Hoffman and illustrator Chris Case (Magination Press), is a follow up to their 2014 Jacob’s New Dress. When Jacob, in a dress, and his friend Sophie, in a button-down and khakis, get chased out of the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, respectively, their teacher leads a class discussion on gender expression. The children decide to create new signs indicating anyone can use any bathroom. The unfortunate reality is that not all schools will be as quick to make change—but this cheerful book offers a model to follow. (Full review.)

It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity, by Theresa Thorn and illustrated by Noah Grigni (Henry Holt/Macmillan), introduces us in a simple way to (fictional) children who are transgender, cisgender, non-binary, and whose gender identities are changing, and hear advice such as, “Your feelings about your gender are real. Listen to your heart.” Well suited as a way for parents and teachers to introduce the variations of gender identity, though some may prefer a more story-driven approach. (Full review.)

Dazzling Travis: A Story About Being Confident and Original, by Hannah Carmona Dias and illustrated by Brenda Figueroa (Cardinal Rule Press) stars Travis, a young Black boy, who likes to dress up as “a knight, a king or a queen.” Some of his classmates, however, nastily tell him that boys and girls must each play with different things. Travis summons his courage and explains why they are wrong. The message is good, but a bit pedantic, and many of the rhymes feel forced. At the end are short bios of several real people who “struggled against the opinions of others”; more contemporary choices might resonate better with young readers (and Coco Chanel’s connections with Nazis make her a dubious choice). Still, many may appreciate Travis’ self-confidence and dazzling style. (Full review.)

Except When They Don’t, written by Laura Gehl and illustrated by Joshua Heinsz, works to counter gender stereotypes. Images of boys and girls doing traditionally gendered things are followed by those that cross gender lines. A child, identified as a boy, wears superhero tights and a cape while sipping tea from a pink tea set. A football-playing girl wears ribbons and ruffles. The book never explicitly mentions identifying other than as a boy or girl, however, but adults who wish to discuss being nonbinary, genderqueer, or gender fluid may use the characters as a jumping-off point. (Full review.)

Book Boxes, Magazines, and More

Flamingo Rampant micropress published its third set of queer-inclusive, multiracial, and celebratory picture books, this time with the theme “Discovery.” The books in this set, which you can buy all together here, are:

• Bridge of Flowers, by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, with illustrations by Syrus Marcus Ware, a story of magic and connection about a child whose two parents (one mom, one bapa) have separated.
• Casey’s Ball, by Kit Yan and illustrated by Holloy McGillis, which stars a transgender boy starting his first day on the boys’ soccer team instead of the girls’. While he makes a big mistake in the game and wonders what his teammates will think, they are completely supportive of his efforts—and his gender identity is not an issue at all.
• Colors of Aloha, by Kanoa Kau-Arteaga and illustrated by J.R. Keaolani Bogac-Moore, which follows a group of Hawai’ian children, plus one older brother and his boyfriend, as they explore their island and learn their colors.
• The Great Space Adventure, by Ryka Aoki and illustrated by Cai Steele, about a nonbinary child who finds inspiration and self-acceptance by dreaming they are traveling to the moon and planets.
• It’s a Wild World, by Flamingo Rampant co-founder S. Bear Bergman and illustrated by kd diamond, about a fun class trip to the zoo, where the children learn humans aren’t the only animals to have same-sex relationships, change gender, or have complex family structures. A great launching pad for further STEM exploration!
• Power Poems for Small Humans, an anthology of short poems about self, identity, emotions, and empowerment.

OurShelves, a book box subscription service launched by queer mom and activist Alli Harper, offers a quarterly, curated selection of picture books that include characters who are LGBTQ+, feminist, of various races and ethnicities, and of other under-represented identities. In doing so, it also hopes to show publishers there’s an ongoing market for such stories. (More here.)

Magazine industry veteran and lesbian mom Erin Bried created Kazoo Magazine to offer girls strong role models, though those of any gender may appreciate its content. The intersectional, queer-inclusive, quarterly publication offers a mix of puzzles, comics, interviews, science experiments, art projects, recipes, short stories, and more, all developed with and showcasing leading women in their fields. (More here.)

And venerable children’s magazine publisher Cricket Media has continued adding to the queer-inclusive content in its publications for all ages, including Cricket, Spider, and its online-only Cicada magazine for teens, which also hosts a queer-friendly online community. (More here.)

Middle Grade

The wave of picture books this year meant that I didn’t have the time to read and review all of the middle grade titles I wanted to, but here are a few that I did and can recommend.

Fiction

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is a graphic novel retelling of the classic Little Women, reimagining the four March sisters as a modern, multiracial family—and yes (spoiler alert), Jo is gay. Just as Alcott’s original work was an exploration of what it means to be part of a family and female, so too is this one. Some of the trimmings may be different, but the love is the same. (Full review.)

Hurricane Season, by Nicole Melleby (Algonquin), is a compelling and compassionate book about family, relationships, mental illness, and sexuality. Eleven-year-old Fig lives with her dad, a former concert pianist, after her mother left them. She finds coping with his bipolar disorder challenging at times, but she loves him and is trying to keep social services from taking him away. As this becomes increasingly difficult, a new neighbor offers to help, but Fig finds herself jealous of the relationship developing between him and her father, even as she develops a crush on a girl at school. A bittersweet but ultimately happy book that avoids coming-out tropes and doesn’t shy from showing more than one queer person in a family. (Not to be confused with Kacen Callender’s Hurricane Child (Scholastic, 2018), another great queer, middle-grade read.)

Sapphire the Great and the Meaning of Life, by Beverley Brenna, with illustrations by Tara Anderson (Pajama Press), is told in alternating chapters by nine-year-old Jeannie and her pet hamster Sapphire. Jeannie’s dad has moved out, her mom is irritable, and her older brother withdrawn. She’s trying to cope with these changes, while Sapphire offers a philosophical commentary on their lives and the meaning of freedom. It turns out that Jeannie’s dad has fallen in love with another man. Their neighbor, Anna, offers the family a helping hand and she and Jeannie become close; we learn later that Anna is transgender. At one point, Jeannie asks Anna about the name her parents called her; Anna shares it, noting, however, “It isn’t really a secret, but there are people that wouldn’t understand.” I think this exchange would have been better avoided, since it’s generally offensive to ask transgender people their birth names, even if here it is meant to show the characters’ trust in each other. Young readers might not quite grasp this. Still, Brenna’s overall message is one of complete acceptance of Anna (though some characters do demonstrate bias) in this whimsical and humorous novel about friendship and family.

The Magic Misfits: The Minor Third, by Neil Patrick Harris (Little, Brown), is the third volume in this series about six friends, each with a different skill in the magical arts (and one with two dads). This one focuses on the violinist of the group, Theo, who is drawn to a new girl in town, even as the group must investigate a suspicious ventriloquist. Like its predecessors, The Magic Misfits and The Magic Misfits: The Second Story, this volume blends adventure, chasing evil villains, and the power of friendship, along with puzzles and magic tricks to engage the reader.

Nonfiction

Gayle Pitman’s The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets (Abrams) is organized around 50 representative objects from the era and the event, such as photos, matchbooks, picket signs, and more. Pitman weaves the stories behind these objects into a narrative that feels both accessible and substantial. (Full review.)

Every social justice hero was once a child. Some became activists as children; others did so as adults because of things they experienced when they were young. Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change from the prolific Robin Stevenson (Quirk Books) explores the childhoods of 16 diverse activists in a variety of civil rights’ movements, including LGBTQ activists Harvey Milk and Janet Mock. The biographies are thoughtful and feel substantial for their length. (Full review.)

These next two veer into teen/young adult territory. The world of LGBTQ-inclusive young adult literature is far too vast for me to cover effectively—but I have a weakness for history, so I offer these two recommendations:

My Body My Choice: The Fight for Abortion Rights (Orca), also by Stevenson, is both a history and a call to action. Combining text, images, quotes, maps, charts, and more into an engaging package, it offers a look at what abortion is, how it became criminalized, and the generations of activists who have fought for reproductive freedom. Commendably, Stevenson uses transgender-inclusive language throughout when referring to those who may be pregnant or have abortions, except when she is using historical or other source material that refers only to women. She also has a specific section about transgender and non-binary people and abortion and their need for “accessible, appropriate, and inclusive” care. (Full review.)

Queer History of the United States for Young People (Penguin Random House), adapted by Richie Chevat from Michael Bronski’s original Queer History of the United States, starts with a look at how some of North America’s indigenous tribes viewed gender identity at the time of the first Europeans’ arrival, and moves on to give us a look at the LGBTQ people and movements—both famous and less so—that have helped shape U.S. history since then. Smartly, it does not presume familiarity with LGBTQ terminology, and offers explanations (and short etymologies) of many of them, making this a good read for teens of all identities and backgrounds.

(I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.)