It’s back-to-school time and International Literacy Day, so let’s celebrate some of the heroes of literacy in school and community: librarians! Here are six kids’ books featuring queer librarians, librarians helping queer kids, and librarians in drag!
While each of these books is very different, each one showcases some of the many ways librarians make an impact. Click images or titles for full reviews!
Board and Picture Books
I’m a Librarian (A Tinyville Town Book), by Brian Biggs (Abrams). The fourth board book in this cute preschool series shows the male town librarian going about his day after getting out of a bed where his husband is sleeping, then coming home to read in bed next to him at night. (Here’s my interview with Biggs about the story!)
The Little Library, by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz & Wade Books). Part of the creative team’s popular Mr. Tiffin’s Classroom series, this is the tale of a boy who “is a slow and careful reader” and a librarian (who happens to be nonbinary and use they/them pronouns) helping him find just the right book for his interests and the way he reads.
The Sublime Ms. Stacks, by Robb Pearlman, illustrated by Dani Jones (Bloomsbury). Cardigan-clad librarian Mr. Stephen is very good at helping people find books and shushing loud talkers, but bores the kids during storytime. That’s when he calls on the sublime Ms. Stacks for help. Ms. Stacks brings glitter to arts and crafts and action to stories. She even gets the other librarians to don their drag personas and lip sync with her. They’re still librarians, though, and continue to educate and engage even while performing. It’s just a shame Mr. Stephen is never around to see them…. Lots of fun.
Early Chapter Book
Riley Reynolds Slays the Play (Riley Reynolds #4), by Jay Albee (Stone Arch). Fourth-grader Riley loves lots of things: their parents, cousins, friends, all kinds of animals, making cool stuff (as well as messes), and being nonbinary. In this volume of the early chapter book series, Riley and friends Cricket and Lea are getting ready for their class play. But forgotten lines, smudged backdrops, and other problems put the show at risk. Even with the support of their director, librarian Mx. Aude (also nonbinary), can they bring things together for the big performance?
Middle Grade
Coming Back, by Jessi Zabarsky (Random House Graphic). The softly curved, limited-palette drawings tell much of the tale in this graphic novel. Preet and Valissa are partners, living in a village shaped by magic. But while Preet’s own shifting and shaping magic is strong, librarian Valissa has none. When circumstances and insecurities divide them emotionally and geographically, will they be able to find their way back to each other? A gentle story (with some slightly spooky elements) of personal and societal change.
The Deepest Breath, by Meg Grehan (Little Island Books). In this beautiful novel in verse, 11-year-old Stevie feels anxious when she doesn’t know things, and seeks to understand her anxiety. Her single mum tries to be supportive, but can only do so much when Stevie is unable to express the one thing—her crush on a girl in her class—that is puzzling Stevie the most. Stevie, for her part, doesn’t want to add to her mum’s own worries. Stevie does what so many young queer people do, and searches for answers online, then in a library. A helpful librarian is a key figure in this perceptive story of coming out and beginning to grow up.
