Seven picture books published this year—six biographies and one historical snapshot—highlight an array of figures and moments from LGBTQ history. One expects such books to be informative—but these are also often fun, lyrical, and dazzlingly illustrated, ready to inspire young readers in multiple ways.
Click titles or images for full reviews—and filter my Database of LGBTQ Family Books by the “Biography” tag and Picture books category (or other age category, if desired) to see other biographies published in previous years (plus ones of contemporary personalities, whom I’m not including in this history-focused roundup). You can also filter for picture books with the “LGBTQ History” tag for a broader selection of titles that delve into queer history.
A Historical Snapshot
Are You a Friend of Dorothy? by Newbery Award honoree and two-time Stonewall Award winner Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Levi Hastings (Simon & Schuster), is an absolutely delightful, informative, and original picture book about an intriguing facet of LGBTQ history and a testament to queer community and resilience. It’s the story of how queer people used to find each other, how government investigators were amusingly duped, and how “learning about the ways we survived in the past could help people in the future.” Lukoff balances the discussion of past challenges and hardships by also telling of the joy and strength in queer community—a joy reflected in Levi Hasting’s pitch-perfect, slightly retro illustrations. Highly recommended and more necessary than ever.
Biographies
Mary Oliver, Holding on to Wonder, by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Jasu Hu (Calkins Creek). This evocative biography of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver takes us through her quiet wonderings about the natural world, her discovery of how words and poetry could help her convey her observations and ideas, and her work as a poet. Frankel’s text captures some of the lyricism of Oliver’s own works, while Hu’s watercolors elevate the book to something truly special, showing both the natural beauty of the world that Oliver saw and the swirling images of her imagination. The volume is both a biography and an ode to poetry itself, a powerful combination.
Outside In and the Inside Out: A Story About Arnold Lobel, by Emmy Kastner (Viking), starts out, “This story begins with a boy and a pair of wet socks,” It’s an appropriately offbeat beginning to the story of an offbeat person: Arnold Lobel, author of the classic Frog and Toad series. Author/illustrator Emmy Kastner cleverly and effectively captures some of the charm and whimsy of Lobel’s own works to tell the story of his life—both his work and his personal journey to coming out after being married to a woman.
Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer, by Quartez Harris, illustrated by Gordon C. James (Little, Brown), is a lyrical biography of the famed author and poet that begins, “The first time James Baldwin read a book, the words clung to him like glitter.” Harris beautifully evokes the power of Baldwin’s own words, while Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator Gordon C. James’s lush oil images offer dynamic snapshots of Baldwin’s life, often set at angles that immerse the reader in the scene, and sometimes with words themselves spilling across the pages.
This is the second recent picture book biography of Baldwin, after the earlier Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues. Both are highly recommended; I offer some comparisons in my full review of Go Tell It.
Edie for Equality: Edie Windsor Stands Up for Love, by Michael Genhart, illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday (Lee & Low), gives us a compelling portrait of one of the true heroes of the fight for LGBTQ equality. The book takes us from Windsor’s childhood to her falling in love with Thea Spyer, and then to Thea’s death and the legal battle over inheritance that led to a groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2013. Genhart balances a narration of Edie’s legal struggles with lovely descriptions of her and Thea’s relationship,
One Day in June: A Story Inspired by the Life and Activism of Marsha P. Johnson, by Tourmaline, illustrated by Charlot Kristensen (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), is a lively, lyrical, and evocative picture book about the trans icon that isn’t as much a narration of the events in her life as it is the reminiscences of an old friend. It’s a powerful approach that emphasizes Johnson’s significance and impact. This is “a story inspired by” Johnson’s life rather than a biography per se (although I am tagging it as one since people may seek it that way). But for readers of the target age group, I think biographical details are less important than knowing about the boundless spirit, self-confidence, and the belief in human connection that make Johnson worth remembering.
I Am Sally Ride, by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos (Rocky Pond), is part of the creative duo’s series of biographies for young readers, told in a relatable first-person narrative. The well-known highlights of the physicist and astronaut’s life are here, but while the narrative is kept relatively simple for the age group, it manages to pack a lot in. The primary focus is on Ride’s career, but her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy is noted and seen on a final page of photos and a timeline.
