A Florida school district has put labels on over 100 books warning that some people feel they are “unsuitable for students.” They include a book that depicts same-sex parents caring for their babies, picture books about transgender and gender creative children, and the real-life story of a same-sex penguin pair. What’s next? Warning labels on LGBTQ students and those with LGBTQ parents?
Back-to-school time is here, so why not get your kids in the mood with some LGBTQ-inclusive picture books set in schools? There are now many such books, but here are a few of my favorites, across a variety of identities, that focus on first days of school and other school moments of being welcoming, supportive, and inclusive.
It’s International Cat Day, so I’m celebrating not only with my own cat (really, every day is Cat Day around here), but with these seven LGBTQ-inclusive picture books involving furry feline friends! (Bonus photo of my own cat included!)
A new picture book has the perfect age-appropriate approach for introducing younger readers to LGBTQ+ leaders.
A new, four-book series with a nonbinary protagonist is available today in its entirety, adding to the small but growing number of LGBTQ-inclusive early chapter books.
Did you know there are now more than five dozen LGBTQ-inclusive board books for the very youngest children? Here are some of the ones published this year–and you can always see my database for more!
Today is International Nonbinary People’s Day, so here are more than a dozen new (and upcoming) children’s books from 2022 that celebrate nonbinary kids!
Gavin Grimm successfully fought his high school in federal court for the right to use the boy’s bathroom like the boy he is. To write a picture book about his experience, he teamed up with Kyle Lukoff, a two-time Stonewall Award winner, Newbery honoree, former children’s librarian, and also a trans man. I can think of no better pairing. Together with illustrator J Yang, they’ve given us a must-read book for readers of all identities.
“What Should a Queer Children’s Book Do?” asks Jessica Winter today in the New Yorker. It’s a good question, which she carefully explores through the history of LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books and the ongoing attacks on them. The piece echoes much of what I’ve said about the genre over the years. Here are a few additional thoughts and further readings, if the topic intrigues you.
A new picture book about food fermentation evangelist Sandor Katz is the queer biography I didn’t know I needed—full of flavor, inspiration, and community.
