LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
Here’s what’s happening, from LGBTQ families in the news, to political happenings, new research, and even some funny stuff!
children’s books
Cricket Media Expands LGBTQAI+ Content and Community for Kids, Teens
Cricket Media, “the world’s most awarded children’s magazine publisher” (per its website) is adding to the queer content in its publications. This April, its Spider magazine, for ages six to nine, will feature its first full-length story with LGBTQAI+ characters—but that’s just one piece of the company’s already inclusive content. Two Cricket Media editors and the story’s author, who all identify on the LGBTQAI+ spectrum, spoke with me about what the publisher is offering and why they feel it is important.
Two New Books Show Two Ways to Include LGBTQ Characters
It’s going to be a book-focused week here at Mombian. Let’s get started with two new books—one for middle grades and one for young adults—that show two different ways of incorporating LGBTQ characters and themes into a story.
14 LGBTQ-Inclusive Kids’ Books Featuring Animals to Read After Marlon Bundo
Comedian John Oliver made headlines this week with a new children’s book, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, released in response to A Day in the Life of the Vice President by Charlotte Pence, daughter of Vice President Mike Pence, and illustrated by his wife Karen. In Oliver’s version, Marlon falls in love with another boy bunny. But it’s hardly the only LGBTQ-inclusive children’s book starring animal characters.
New Middle-Grade Book Features Girl with Two Moms, Marriage Equality Win
A new middle-grade book, just released today, is told through a series of letters from a 10-year-old girl with two moms to her soon-to-be-born sibling, during a momentous year for both marriage equality and her favorite basketball team.
Your Input Wanted for Queer-Inclusive Sex Ed Book
Two of my favorite LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books of recent years are Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s works on sexuality and reproduction, What Makes a Baby? and Sex Is a Funny Word. Now, the two want your input for their next volume.
Where Are All the LGBTQ Kid Show Book Tie-Ins?
Many of us queer parents (myself included) bemoan the lack of LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books, especially for younger tots. There’s one potential source for these books, however, that has not yet been fully tapped: tie-ins to the increasing (though still small) number of LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ television shows.
Eastern Europe’s First Book for “Rainbow Families” Launches Crowdfunder
The first book for LGBTQ families in Eastern Europe is building on the success of a January giveaway and launching an Indiegogo campaign to get the book into the hands of more children.
Free Queer-Inclusive Kids’ Stories
Several authors of queer-inclusive kids’ books are making their stories available free—one just for today!
Jacqueline Woodson Wins Laura Ingalls Wilder Award; LGBTQ Young Adult Books Win Youth Media Awards
Author Jacqueline Woodson, recently inaugurated National Ambassador for Children’s Literature and a queer mom, won the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for books that have made “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” Several other LGBTQ children’s books and their authors were also honored at the ALA’s annual Youth Media Awards today.