Three new LGBTQ-inclusive picture books out this week show the range of such titles, with a family story where the queerness is incidental, a book that specifically celebrates being bi, and the biography of a queer changemaker!
Click images or titles for full reviews, and visit my Database of LGBTQ Family Books to see what else is new!
Papa’s Coming Home, by Chasten Buttigieg, illustrated by Dan Taylor (Philomel Books), is a sweet and gently humorous family story about a boy and a girl who are happily preparing for the homecoming of their Papa, who has been away on a trip. It’s clearly inspired by Buttigieg’s real life, but is not specific to his family; it’s an entertaining tale recommended for any family with a traveling parent, although two-dad families may particularly appreciate it. Add it to the happily growing number of LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books that aren’t “about” being LGBTQ, and pair it with Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle, the tale of a girl spending time with one mom while the other is traveling.
The Bi Book, by A.J. Irving, illustrated by Cynthia Alonso (Knopf), takes the opposite approach, focusing on explaining one specific LGBTQ identity—but it is the identity that has seen perhaps the least (clear) representation in children’s books. This is one of few picture books that even uses the term “bisexual(ity)” or that depicts clearly bi people. It’s the only one I’m aware of that focuses on the concept. Irving offers lyrical descriptions of things where “bi” means two, such as bicycles, bivalves, binoculars, and more, including bilingual and biracial people. One special “bi” word “can mean ‘more than two,” however, the book concludes: “Bisexuality. Because bi hearts love in a rainbow of ways.”
Bi parents in fact comprise 72% of all LGBTQ parents per UCLA’s Williams Institute. It’s about time they and their children, and all children who will grow up to love in a rainbow of ways, had a book to call their own. This is a lovely and recommended one.
Edie for Equality: Edie Windsor Stands Up for Love, by Michael Genhart, illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday (Lee & Low), is a compelling portrait of one of the true heroes of the fight for LGBTQ equality, whose landmark U.S. Supreme Court case overturned key parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and required the federal government to recognize marriages of same-sex couples. Genhert does a good job of simplifying the court process and legal arguments for a young audience, although the wordiness puts this volume at the upper end of the picture book age range. I also like that he creates a throughline with Edie’s love of math and her desire that things add up so that “equal means equal.” The book balances a narration of Edie’s legal struggles with lovely descriptions of her and her spouse Thea’s relationship, making this a recommended title.
