I’m thrilled to announce that the Mombian Database of LGBTQ Family Books now has over 1,800 entries, with more than 100 added since last November. Come see what’s new for children ages 0 to 12 and for grown-ups, search and filter by topic and identity, and read my in-depth reviews!
What’s Here
About half of the items in the database are picture books (including more than 100 board books), followed by middle-grade books, books for grown-ups about LGBTQ families, and early readers/chapter books. While about 96% of the database is books, there are also some LGBTQ-inclusive children’s music albums, toys and games, and documentaries about LGBTQ families.
Not all of the items in the database are recommended; both accuracy and literary/artistic quality vary. I offer reviews to guide you, based on two decades of studying the genre, and I include books that I am critical of so that you will know to assess them carefully. Nevertheless, many of the titles are excellent and some are superb; others may be less stellar in some ways but still offer important representation.
When I first began this blog in 2005, I could count the annual number of LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books on one hand. When I launched the database in January 2021, it had just over 500 items. Growth of the database has been mostly in works published since then, although I’ve also filled in some older titles. I add all of the LGBTQ-inclusive books I know of for ages 0 to 12, barring ones of exceptionally poor quality (and ones that are not affirming of LGBTQ identities). If you are an author or publisher of any type and would like your book(s) to be considered, please contact me. (For more on what’s not in the database, see the footnote.*)
What’s the Landscape
The number of LGBTQ-inclusive family books has increased dramatically in recent years, and the range of LGBTQ and intersectional identities shown has also grown, though we still have far to go in some areas. The overall quality has increased along with the volume and breadth of subjects—indeed, many of these books have won major awards in non-LGBTQ as well as LGBTQ categories. And while I’ve said this for several years now, it bears repeating: among other areas, I would still like to see more:
- Families entirely of color, across all identities of color;
- Transgender and nonbinary parents;
- Children’s biographies of the many notable LGBTQ people who do not yet have biographies for that age range (or do not have ones that mention their queer identities), Audre Lorde being only one example;
- Picture books about human kids of LGBTQ parents (across the LGBTQ spectrum) getting human siblings (and not just analogies with pets), although a few titles have started to fill that gap;
- Picture books of LGBTQ families celebrating cultural and religious traditions or exploring other intersectional aspects of their identities;
- Stories where the characters’ LGBTQ identities are incidental to the main plot, but where they nevertheless act in ways that feel authentic to those identities.
We’ve happily seen some improvement in all of the above, but there is still progress to be made. The diversity of our community across many aspects of identity means we have many, many stories to tell.
LGBTQ-inclusive books and books about other marginalized identities may continue to be banned in record numbers, or caught in sweeping “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” laws. We need to change that. (Unite Against Book Bans is a good starting point if you want to help do so.) I am heartened, however, by the many new books that continue to be published (stay tuned for more great titles this year), and by the authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians, teachers, and others who continue to connect readers with them and to defend them even in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Many LGBTQ parents and parents of LGBTQ children still often have difficulty finding books that represent their families and/or identities; the same is true for allied parents, teachers, and others wanting to ensure LGBTQ representation in their homes and schools. I built this database for you. I hope you’ll keep coming back to see what’s new as it grows further.
*I don’t cover young adult books since I’m only one person and need to sleep. Also, my blog is focused on parents and resources for them; older teens are usually choosing their own books. Kids’ movies/TV are a whole other adventure, and I have not yet added them—but see this post for an overview through early 2020, my Children’s films, Children’s television, and Children’s videos blog post categories, and in addition to Mombian, the Insider database of LGBTQ characters in cartoons (through June 2021), and the Wikipedia page on LGBTQ representation in children’s television (which, as with any Wikipedia article, is a good starting point, but should always be double checked).