The American Library Association has just announced its 2025 Rainbow Book List of over 175 librarian-approved titles “celebrating LGBTQIA+ youth and families.” Let’s look more closely at these books for children and teens, why they matter, and some exclusive charts showing trends over the years.
Numerous LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books were honored at today’s annual American Library Association Youth Media Awards, winning not only in LGBTQ categories, but also in several others—proving once again that those who wish to ban or restrict them are keeping kids from some of the best children’s literature around.
Newbery honoree Kyle Lukoff’s new middle grade novel is the tale of a Jewish, transgender boy trying to save the world from anti-trans demons. That alone should be enough to commend it. But it’s also much more: a powerful story of self-growth, the many ways of transformation, and the complexity of human relationships.
Let’s roll into the holidays with 10 intriguing quotes from some of the year’s best LGBTQ middle grade books—they’re out of context to prevent spoilers, but I hope they stir your interest in these fun, insightful, and inspiring titles.
Moving tales of self-growth and finding family, epic adventures of magic and mystery, sweet stories of friendships and crushes, and combinations of the above: the LGBTQ-inclusive middle grade novels of 2024 are a wide-ranging lot. Here are some favorites.
At a time when representation matters more than ever, I’m proud to announce that the Mombian Database of LGBTQ Family Books now has more than 1,700 entries, with about 300 added in the past year and 100 since June. Search and filter by topic and identity, and read my in-depth reviews!
Sometimes the only thing better than a good book is a good book series. Middle grade readers will love to reengage with the compelling characters and worlds of the many LGBTQ-inclusive novels that had sequels come out this year!
This week marks the midst of the Jewish High Holidays, so here are some of my favorite LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books from 2024 with Jewish protagonists and themes. They make great reading at any time of year!
Five new middle-grade graphic novels are full of fun, queerness, and young people navigating change, exploring crushes, and finding their strengths with a little help from family and friends.
Today’s two new LGBTQ-inclusive middle-grade novels are each very different, but both have themes of challenging injustice: In one, a group of students creatively fight a book ban at their school; in the other, a nonbinary and a disabled protagonist duo have a sword-swinging fantasy adventure to save their realm.
