Teach Kids to Be “Kind Like Marsha” With Picture Book of LGBTQ Leaders
A new picture book has the perfect age-appropriate approach for introducing younger readers to LGBTQ+ leaders.
Remembering (LGBTQ History)
Did You Know? Author of “America the Beautiful” Was Queer
Many of us may hear “America the Beautiful” played this July 4th. But did you know that its author, Katharine Lee Bates, was also a scholar, suffragist, and social activist, and lived for 25 years in a loving relationship with fellow professor Katharine Coman?
2 New Middle Grade Novels Celebrate Queer History and Community
Two new middle-grade novels, one by the lauded Alex Gino and one by debut author Michael Leali, focus on queer youth exploring queer history within the context of queer communities. These joyous, empowering, inspirational books are great reads for Pride or any time of year!
26 Years Ago, a Children’s Book Asked, “Grandma, What’s a Lesbian?”
Happy Lesbian Visibility Day! “The benefit of being a lesbian is one of the best kept secrets ever,” said this earnest 1996 children’s book, written by two lesbian grandmothers. It feels rather dated now—but reminds us of our long history, so I’m sharing about it once again. Read on for more about the book (and see where you can read a free copy online).
Did You Know: The Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction from the 1950s Is Also a Mom and Grandmother?
Here’s a fun historical tidbit to brighten your day: Ann Bannon, whose 1950s and 60s novels of lesbian life have earned her the title “the Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction,” is not only a mom, but also a grandmother.
Two Memoirs Offer Two Looks at Children of Gay Dads in the 1970s
Two memoirs published this year by grown children of gay dads both start just a few years after the Stonewall Riots. In one, the author’s parents divorced after her dad came out; in the other, her parents stayed together for decades more. Each shows us the pervasive blight of homophobia and reminds us of the many ways that queer parents and our children have navigated what it means to be a family.
Telling Our Family Histories
October is LGBTQ History Month, and I could write, as I have in the past, about the long history of LGBTQ parents, arguably going back to Sappho (7th-6th century BCE) and Alexander the Great (4th century BCE). This year, I instead want to remind us that we and our families are part of this long history, and to encourage us to think about how we can preserve our own family histories and pass them on to our children.
New Kids’ Books on LGBTQ History (and Dozens More)
It’s LGBTQ History Month, one of my favorite times of the year! Several new kids’ books on LGBTQ history and historical figures have come out since I last rounded them up, and a great new one is coming out shortly, so here’s a look!
HBO’s “Nuclear Family”: A Landmark Lesbian Parentage Case and a Daughter’s Search for Understanding
It is many a queer parent’s nightmare: your child’s sperm donor sues for paternity. When it happened to Robin Young and Sandy Russo in 1991, it precipitated a landmark four-year court battle that indelibly marked 9-year-old Ry Russo-Young and her 11-year-old sister Cade. Yet Ry, now an award-winning filmmaker, had never really been able to process her feelings about what happened. Her attempt to do so, and to understand the other side of the story, led her to create Nuclear Family, a three-part documentary that premieres this Sunday on HBO.
4 Kids’ Books About Harvey Milk to Celebrate Harvey Milk Day
Today is Harvey Milk’s birthday, now observed as Harvey Milk Day—so here are four books for children, from a board book to an early reader—that tell the story of this LGBTQ hero!
