2 Kids’ Books (and More) About LGBTQ Canadians

Today I’m featuring a picture book and a middle grade title that tell true stories of LGBTQ Canadians—my small attempt as an American to help spread goodwill and understanding across our borders. Whether you’re Canadian, American, or otherwise, read on for reviews (plus some bonus LGBTQ-inclusive Canadian fiction titles for kids)!

Click images or titles for full reviews in my Database of LGBTQ Family Books!

Meet Jim Egan, by Elizabeth MacLeod, illustrated by Mike Deas (Scholastic Canada): This illustrated biography of Canadian LGBTQ activist Jim Egan won the inaugural Sharon Fitzhenry Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction at the 2025 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards. Egan was the first openly gay man elected to public office in Canada. His fight for spousal benefits would lead to protections for the LGBTQ2S+ community under the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, though he and his partner of 50 years sadly didn’t live to see full marriage equality.

With lively text and comic-style images, this is a highly recommended title for young readers anywhere who want to learn more about a pivotal figure in the history of LGBTQ rights.

Amazing 2SLGBTQIA+ People in Atlantic Canada: Stories of Activism, Education, and Pride, by Rebecca Rose, illustrated by James Bentley (Nimbus): Actor Elliot Page may be arguably the most well-known LGBTQ person from Atlantic Canada worldwide, but he is hardly the only one. This middle grade collective biography profiles more than 50 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals (including Page) from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island (PEI), chronicling their past and present contributions across fields as diverse as activism, writing, arts, entertainment (including drag), education, politics, history, science, sports, and more.

Most of the people covered here have some element of queer activism in their work, and many have also created change in other areas, such as environmentalism, indigenous rights, and disability rights. As an American reviewer, I’m ashamed to say I had only known of a couple of people in the book—Page and PWHL goalie CJ Jackson—but was delighted to learn about the many queer people from Atlantic Canada who have made a difference in their local, provincial, national, and world communities.

And More

Worth checking out, too, is Pride: The Celebration and the Struggle, by Canadian author Robin Stevenson (Orca), which covers both Canada and the U.S. as well as “Pride Around the World.” It’s a dazzling, wide-ranging book that is bound to be a much-used resource in homes, schools and libraries.

In addition to the nonfiction books above, check out this selection of middle grade fiction titles set in Canada, by Canadian authors:

• The Burn Beast, a brand-new title that I featured yesterday, about a bi girl with two moms dealing with fire demons (and a crush) in a creepy Canadian town.
• The Lotterys Plus One and The Lotterys More or Less, about a large, queer family in Toronto;
• Bea Mullins Takes a Shot, about a Canadian girl learning hockey, standing up for her team, and navigating a crush. (It is likely the first middle grade book to include a PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) game, and is certainly the first queer-inclusive one);
• Rabbit Chase, a graphic novel retelling of Alice in Wonderland through the eyes of Aimée, a non-binary Anishinaabe middle-schooler.
• Noah Frye Gets Crushed, a humorous but insightful novel about shifting middle-school social circles, crushes, and coming out.
• Tegan and Sara: Junior High and Crush, lightly fictionalized versions of the Canadian pop duo’s lives in junior high, though set in the present day, not the 1990s in which they really grew up.

And the picture book Families tells of an Inuit boy living with his mother in Iqaluit, and learning about the different types of families in his community, including one with two moms and an involved birth mom, and a male teacher with a husband.

If you’re an adult LGBTQ person in Canada looking to start or grow your family, check out:

• Conceivable: A Guide to Making 2SLGBTQ+ Family, a helpful guide from Canadian certified doula and fertility support practitioner Laine Halper Zisman.

For even more LGBTQ-inclusive Canadian books, visit my Database of LGBTQ Family Books and filter for a Canadian publisher, including Annick Press, Arsenal Pulp, Flamingo Rampant, Kids Can Press, Nimbus Publishing, Orca Book Publishers, Owlkids, Rebel Goose, Scholastic Canada, Second Story Press, and Tundra Books, among others.