Any book can be read at bedtime—but some are particularly good at getting kids ready for dreamland. Here are a dozen of my LGBTQ-inclusive favorites with bedtime themes (including a brand-new one out today, and another you’re going to want to pre-order!), plus two bedtime music albums.
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Books
Out today! The Best Bed for Me, by Gaia Cornwall (Candlewick): Mommy and Mama want their young child, Sweet Pea (who is never gendered), to go to bed. Sweet Pea’s stalling turns into a fun romp through the animal kingdom as Sweet Pea wants to sleep in a tree like a koala, then holding hands like sea otters, then upside down like a bat…. With each proposal, Mama patiently tries to steer Sweet Pea back to their own real bed; one senses this is not the first time she’s seen this menagerie. Mommy, holding an infant, is a calm but silent presence in the background. Eventually, Sweet Pea decides that their own bed is “the best bed for me” and settles down to sleep.
My Moms Love Me, by Anna Membrino, illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz (Orchard Books): In this rhyming poem from baby to Mommy and Mama, each page or spread shows us a scene from their daily life—having a meal (and cleaning up messes), visiting a farm, dancing, singing in the car, then taking a bath and sitting inside safe and warm while a storm blows outside. Finally, it is storytime and bedtime, as the child reflects, “I love my moms and they love me. Together we are family!” Board book.
Plenty of Hugs, by Fran Manushkin and illustrated by Kip Alizadeh (Dial Books): A celebration of the loving relationship between a toddler and parents who happen to be two moms. We journey with the family as they bicycle to a farm and a zoo, then come home for dinner, bath time, story time, and bed. It’s the bedtime section that will win readers’ hearts, as the family watches stars, fireflies, and animals getting ready for the night, then reads stories woven with messages of love. Neither of the parents’ genders or pronouns is specified, although the publisher has said it is a book about two moms; one has a more masculine gender expression and could be read either as a masculine woman or as a nonbinary person.
I Love You Because I Love You, by Muon Thi Van, illustrated by Jessica Love (Katherine Tegan Books): This warm and lovely book celebrates love and the many ways we express it. Each spread uses a call-and-response dialog as it depicts various people, including families with two moms or two dads, and one with a transgender child, showing their love to each other in different ways. While not every person or family seems coded as queer (some parents are shown singly, so it’s hard to tell), there are also no different-sex couples in the book.
The Light of You, by Trystan Reese and Biff Chaplow, illustrated by Van Binfa (Flamingo Rampant): A two-dad family (including one dad, a trans man, who is pregnant) is welcoming a new baby! Each spread shows different members of the extended family and community bringing gifts and support—but also offers questions for readers to answer themselves, such as “Who welcomed and celebrated your small person?” There is no real bedtime theme here, but I’m going to include it anyway because books with trans parents are still relatively rare, and this book is soothing and affirming, making it perfect for bedtime (or anytime) discussion.
As Babies Dream, by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Taia Morley (Magination Press): The author of Heather Has Two Mommies, who is also an award-winning poet, here offers gentle rhymes about animal parents and offspring going about their lives and eventually settling in to sleep, as the Earth, moon, and stars continue their movements around them. The colors on each lush and vibrant page shift towards darker blues and purples as night settles in. The families depicted include one with two moms, one with two dads, two with a mom and a dad, and one with a single mother.
A Family Is … by Lisa Thiesing (Aladdin): Whimsical, anthropomorphic animal families show the many things a family is for—having breakfast, walking in the park, being together, and belonging; for chores, fun, laughing, and understanding. As the book ends, we see that family is also for bath time, stories, snuggles, and a kiss good night, making this itself a sweet bedtime tale. While the gender of the animals is not always easy to tell, choices in how their clothing is drawn imply that there are same-sex parent couples among them.
I Promise, by Catherine Hernandez and illustrated by Syrus Marcus Ware (Arsenal Pulp Press): A gentle conversation between a parent and child about how different types of families form—not by going into technical details, but by focusing on the parental promise of love and support that underlies them. Images of the child and mother engaging in their bedtime routine are interspersed with images of the other families.
Bedtime, Not Playtime, by Lawrence Schimel and illustrated by Elina Braslina (Orca): With bouncy rhymes and bright illustrations, this board book shows a girl trying to get ready for bed with the help of her two dads, while the family dog wants to play instead. Notable for not being “about” LGBTQ identities, but simply showing a fun slice of life in a family that happens to have two dads. Also available in French (and many other languages in other countries). Board book.
Home at Last, by Vera B. Williams and illustrated by Chris Raschka (Greenwillow Books): The boy featured here can’t fall asleep after being adopted by his two dads. They try many things to help him feel at home until their dog, who crawls into bed to comfort and protect him, provides the solution.
Havdalah Sky: A Poem for the End of Shabbat, by Chris Barash and illustrated by Sarita Rich: A gentle rhyming board book, told from a child’s perspective, as she, her two moms, and a pair of grandparents observe Havdalah, the short ceremony that ends Shabbat each week. To end the evening, the child and her moms look out the window as the child bids good night to the Havdalah sky. (I’m Jewish and I know; Havdalah technically isn’t bedtime, but it’s often close, for younger kids, so I’m including it here since its also a soothing, evening-themed book.) Board book.
The Good Dream Dragon, by Jacky Davis, illustrated by Courtney Dawson (Little, Brown): A child who uses they/them pronouns is worried about having bad dreams. One of their two moms reminds them they can always call on the Good Dream Dragon. After struggling to sleep, they call out to the dragon, who appears and flies the child to a mountaintop in Dreamland. There, the child has gentle adventures until they feel sleepy and the dragon flies them home. The child snuggles down to sleep and the dragon affirms that the child can still call “Whenever you need me.” A lovely story with lush illustrations and soothing words, plus just the right spark of imagination. Not out until October 25, but available for preorder.
Music
The Rainbow Lullaby, by Ryan Bauer-Walsh and others: This album includes soothing melodies and inclusive, loving lyrics by 15 award-winning LGBTQIA+ writers, performed by more than 30 LGBTQIA+ artists, including many Broadway stars. Many of the songs are explicitly inclusive of families with two moms or two dads, or speak to the many types of families. Others touch on the often long journeys many LGBTQIA+ people have taken to parenthood. Some speak simply to the bond between any parent and child. All of the songs, however, are at heart about the love and care of family.
Night Life, by Sara Lovell: From an award-winning singer-songwriter who’s also a single gay mom, this album “celebrates the hours that lead up to bedtime and the magical worlds we enter when we finally succumb to sleep.” It includes lullabies among often upbeat tunes, in a variety of genres, by an artist who realizes (as all parents do) that bedtime for young children isn’t a moment, it’s an extended, energetic experience. The last song is a “Lullaby for Grownups” that smartly puts the child in charge of sending the adults off to sleep (while perhaps also subversively soothing young listeners). Lovell and co-writer Monica Pasqual have crafted the lyrics to include all families.