A children’s book with a transgender protagonist and a transgender author earned a Newbery Honor for the first time ever, and other queer-inclusive children’s and young adult books—and their queer authors—also won big at this year’s American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards.
Preschooler Heather is no stranger to opposition. Lesléa Newman’s 1989 Heather Has Two Mommies, the first picture book to depict happily coupled same-sex parents and their child, faced opprobrium from conservatives since shortly after it was published. Now, it is one of a record number of books for children and teens, largely about people with marginalized identities, that are under attack across the country.
A new picture book by hip-hop group the Alphabet Rockers, based on a song from their latest Grammy-nominated album, reminds kids that they always belong and encourages them to celebrate themselves, support each other across differences, and speak out against injustice.
The first LGBTQ-inclusive picture book of 2022 is also the first ever about a young girl with a crush on another girl! This celebration of young love is charmingly written and beautifully illustrated—a must-have for any inclusive bookshelf!
A new book, just out today, is (to the best of my knowledge) the first early reader to include a nonbinary character—and it’s from an award-winning author whose work I’ve loved for years!
Attempts to ban children’s and young adult books with characters who are LGBTQ or people of color are sadly nothing new. Such efforts have risen sharply this year, however, and more than 700 organizations and individuals have signed a statement condemning such attacks on children’s education.
Two new titles this year join the list of LGBTQ-inclusive Christmas books for kids! Check out my reviews of titles both old and new as you don your … well, you know.
There were so many great LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books and music albums this year that it was hard to choose a selection for this gift guide. Here are more than 60 that I feel stand out for their overall quality and/or the representation they offer.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a young adult lesbian love story set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1954, yesterday won the prestigious National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. In her acceptance speech, author Malinda Lo urged viewers to resist right-wing efforts to remove books about LGBTQ people and people of color from school and library shelves.
For Transgender Awareness Week, here’s a recap of some of the best children’s books published this year that have transgender protagonists or significant trans characters. Add them to your bookshelf or library for any day of any week!
