For Elementary School-Aged Kids (Toddlers-Gr. 8):
The Family Book. Todd Parr. This book celebrates all kinds of families in a funny, silly and reassuring way. It includes adoptive families, stepfamilies, single-parent families, two-mom and two-dad families and families with a mom and a dad.
Antonio’s Card / La Tarjeta de Antonio. Rigoberto Gonzales. As Mother’s Day approaches, Antonio must choose whether—or how—to express his connection and love for his mother and her partner, Leslie. (Bilingual)
Donovan’s Big Day. Lesléa Newman. This story captures the excitement of a young boy as he and his extended family prepare for the boy’s two moms’ wedding. It is a picture book about love, family, and marriage.
Harriet Gets Carried Away. Jessie Sima. Harriet, an African American girl, with two dads loves costumes. A fun story about remembering where you belong, no matter how far you roam, or what you’re wearing when you get there.
Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution. Rob Sanders, 2019. From the building’s origins as a stable in the 1800s to the Stonewall Inn of the 1960s, the story captures a sense of place, community and the people who stood up for their rights at the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
Sewing the Rainbow: A Story About Gilbert Baker. Gayle Pitman, 2018. This book takes readers from Gilbert’s childhood in a small town in Kansas where he didn’t fit in to the creation of the rainbow flag and his historic artistic career in San Francisco.
Be Amazing: A History of Pride. Desmond Napoles. Twelve year old drag kid Desmond is Amazing walks you through LGBTQ history with courageous people like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and RuPaul have paved the way for a safer, more inclusive society for LGBTQ individuals, and it’s thanks to them that people just like Desmond can be free to be who they really are.
Queer Heroes: Meet 53 LGBTQ Heroes From Past and Present! Arabelle Sicardi. 2019. Discover the inspiring stories of a diverse selection of LGBTQ artists, writers, innovators, athletes, and activists who have made great contributions to culture, from ancient times to present day. Full-color portraits accompanied by short biographies.
Troublemaker for Justice: The Story of Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington. Jacqueline Houtman, 2019. Bayard Rustin was one of the most influential activists of our time, who was an early advocate for African Americans and for gay rights. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., teaching him about the power of nonviolent direct action. A Best Book of 2019 by School Library Journal.
Transgender Role Models and Pioneers. Barbra Penne, 2017. Profiles a host of accomplished transgender people who have made their names in a wide range of fields, including sports, politics, activism, entertainment and the arts.
From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea. Kai Cheng Thom. A magical gender variant child brings transformation and change to the world around them thanks to their mother’s enduring love. In this captivating, beautifully imagined picture book about gender, identity, and the acceptance of the differences between us, Miu Lan faces many questions about who they are and who they may be. But one thing’s for sure: no matter who this child becomes, their mother will love them just the same.
Drama. Raina Telgemeier. Through drama—a play—and drama between characters, this graphic novel explores middle school feelings with boyfriends and girlfriends and boyfriends and boyfriends. Diverse characters.
For Black Girls Like Me. Mariama J. Lockington. Makeda is eleven years old, adopted, and black. She wonders: What would it feel like to grow up with a family that looks like me? In this coming-of-age story, the author draws on some of the emotional truths from her own experiences growing up with an adoptive white family.
Hazel’s Theory of Evolution. Lisa Jenn Bigelow. As Hazel enters eighth grade she wonders: Will she be teased again about her two moms and their goat farm? Her friends, Carina who is a transgender girl and Yosh who has a disability, help her navigate all the changes. Winner of the Lambda Literary Award.
The Other Half of Happy. Rebecca Balcárcel. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American: One-half crush, one-half buddy: Quijana found a buddy in Jayden, but she can’t help the growing feelings she has for him while he has growing feelings for Seth. Quijana must figure out which parts of her identities are most important and how they fit together. 2020 Pura Belpré Honor Book.
99% Chance of Magic: Stories of Strength and Hope for Transgender Kids. Amy Eleanor Heart. An anthology of 12 stories for transgender children, all written & illustrated by trans women and non-binary creatives. Our stories explore a variety of wonderous worlds, but one goal connects them all: to cast a protection spell of hope and strength for transgender and non-binary kids everywhere.
Birdie and Me. J.M.M. Nuanez. A girl named Jack and her gender creative little brother, Birdie, search for the place where they can be their true and best selves. After their mama dies, they find themselves without a place to call home. When Mama’s two brothers each try to provide one–first sweet Uncle Carl, then gruff Uncle Patrick–the results are funny, tender, and tragic and also somehow…spectacular
The Boy in the Dress. David Williams. Dennis’s Dad is depressed since his Mom left and his brother is a bully. But at least he has soccer. Then he discovers he enjoys wearing a dress. Told with humor and respect.
Dragon Pearl (Rick Riordan Presents). Yoon Ha Lee. When Min’s brother disappears, she is determined to find him but meets gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. She has to use more fox-magic than ever before. This scifi adventure with the underpinnings of Korean mythology and non-binary and queer characters woven into the story, you will enter a world far beyond your imagination.
Felix Yz. Lisa Bunker. When Felix Yz was three, he is accidentally fused with a fourth-dimensional being. Now he’s on the brink of a risky procedure that will free him. With an awkward crush on a boy at school, a gender fluid grandparent and a Bi mom, family, bullying and identity are woven into the story.
Freeing Finch. Ginny Rorby. Finch knows she is a girl even though she was born into a boy’s body. She wants to start trusting the people in her life while remaining true to herself. Thankfully, she has Maddy, a neighbor and animal rescuer who accepts her for who she is. George. Alex Gino. (5 – 6) When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George really wants to play Charlotte in Charlotte’s Web. Will she be able to?
The Moon Within. Aida Salazar. Celi Rivera’s life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend’s exploration of what it means to be genderfluid. But most of all, her mother’s insistence she have a moon ceremony, an ancestral Mexica ritual, when her first period arrives
One Half from the East. Nadia Hashimi. A coming-of-age journey set in modern-day Afghanistan that explores life as a bacha posh—a preteen girl dressed as a boy. What does it mean for a girl to suddenly be seen and treated as a boy? What happens when you are supposed to seen as a girl again?
The Other Boy. M. G. Hennessey. Shane, a transgender boy, has moved to a new city and school where people only know him as a boy. He loves playing baseball, graphic novels and hanging out with his best friend. But an older boy undermines Shane’s privacy. Show’s Shane’s range of emotions – anxiety, fear, happiness and courage. Discusses hormone treatments directly.
The Pants Project. Cat Clarke. Liv knows he was always meant to be a boy but he hasn’t told anyone yet – not even his two moms. Now, his new school has a terrible dress code; he has to wear skirts! The only way for Liv to get what he wants is to go after it himself with a mission to change the policy and his life.
Pet. Akwaeke Emezi. A 15-year-old black trans girl learns there are still monsters in her supposedly safe world. But after meeting Pet, a creature that has appeared to hunt a monster, the trans girl fights to uncover the truth. But, how do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist? National Book Award finalist.
Zenobia July. Lisa Bunker. Zenobia July is starting a new life in Maine with her aunts. People used to tell her she was a boy; now she’s able to live openly as the girl she always knew she was. When someone anonymously posts hateful memes on her school’s website, Zenobia knows she’s the one with the hacking skills to solve the mystery.
For High School-Aged Kids (Teens & YA):
Ace of Hearts. Myriad Augustine. Everyone around Alvin seems to be obsessed with one thing — sex. Alvin finds it uncomfortable to think and talk about it and he knows he isn’t ready and may never be. His friends, however, think that all Alvin needs is to hook up with the right guy, so they identify three of the most eligible guys in school and start a plan to set Alvin up with each one. First there’s Allistair, a boy with strong ambitions to become a gay leader in politics. Second is Rowan, a trans boy who mysteriously misses classes. Third is Jesse, the popular rich kid known for wild parties and breaking hearts. But the closer Alvin gets to being physical with someone, the more he’s uncertain that this is for him and he begins to wonder if he’s asexual. Can Alvin find the love that’s right for him?
Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence. Marion Dane Bauer and Beck Underwood. Original stories by C. S. Adler, Marion Dane Bauer, Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden, James Cross Giblin, Ellen Howard, M. E. Kerr, Jonathan London, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Lesléa Newman, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jane Yolen. Each of these stories is original, each is by a noted author for young adults, and each honestly portrays its subject and theme–growing up gay or lesbian, or with gay or lesbian parents or friends.
Darius the Great Is Not Okay. Adib Khorram. Darius, a lonely half-Persian boy with an affinity for Star Trek, travels to Iran to meet his mother’s family for the first time. There, he falls in love: with the city of Yazd, his grandparents, and his new friend, Sohrab.
The Ship We Built. Lexie Bean. Rowan doesn’t know where he belongs — he’s not the “right kind” of girl or the “right kind” of boy, so the kids at school don’t want to spend time with him and his parents both ignore and abuse him. Rowan finds comfort in writing down his secrets in letters and attaching them to balloons — in hopes someone out there will read them and understand. This tender novel will pull at kids’ heartstrings and remind them to be accepting of everyone — just as they are.
Too Bright to See. Kyle Lukoff. It’s summer, and Bug and Moira are preparing to start middle school in just a few months. But while Moira wants to spend all summer picking out the right clothes and looking at boys in the yearbook, Bug wants nothing to do with learning how to be more like a girl. As Bug unravels the mystery surrounding a ghost who’s haunting the family’s rural Vermont home, the truth that Bug is transgender comes to light in this middle grade novel about navigating grief, identity, and growing up.
Being Jazz. Jazz Jennings. Jazz Jennings shares her very public transgender journey in this memoir for young adults. One of the most prominent young voices when it comes to discussing gender identity, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl when she was five years old. At the time when her story became public, the world was much less knowledgeable and accepting of the transgender community. Jazz details how these public experiences have helped shaped the transgender community, the discrimination she’s faced because of it, and how her loving family has supported her every step of the way in this memoir.
Continuum. Chella Man. In Continuum readers meet Chella Man, a wonderful role model on living your most authentic self. His story is one of coping and resilience, of cultivating self-acceptance and being a fierce advocate for yourself.
The Passing Playbook. Isaac Fitzsimons. Spencer Harris seems to have it all: He just started at a new school, he’s going to play on the varsity soccer team, he has a great group of friends, and even a crush. The one problem is that no one at school knows that Spencer is trans—he’s passing. He must make the choice to remain in the shadows or come out to everyone and live his truth.
Beyond Magenta. Susan Kuklin. Author-photographer Susan Kuklin details the lives of six transgender or gender-neutral young adults she met with and interviewed in this impressive offering. Thoughtfully representing each of them, the book features their portraits, family photos, and candid images alongside the emotional and physical journey they’ve each been through put down in words.
Beyond the Gender Binary. Alok Vaid-Menon. Part of the Pocket Change Collective series, in this installment gender-nonconforming artist Alok Vaid-Menon challenges readers to see gender as malleable and a creative form of expression. This tiny book is full of big ideas!
For Adults:
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir. Samra Habib. Faith, art, love, and queer sexuality, a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within her all along. As an Ahmadi Muslim growing up in Pakistan and then moving to Canada, Samra Habib spent most of her life searching for the safety to be herself. A triumphant memoir of forgiveness and family, both chosen and not, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt out of place and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one’s truest self.
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World. Kai Cheng Thom. What can we hope for at the end of the world? What can we trust in when community has broken our hearts? What would it mean to pursue justice without violence? How can we love in the absence of faith? In a heartbreaking yet hopeful collection of personal essays and prose poems, blending the confessional, political, and literary, acclaimed poet and essayist Kai Cheng Thom dives deep into the questions that haunt social movements today. With the author’s characteristic eloquence and honesty, I Hope We Choose Love proposes heartfelt solutions on the topics of violence, complicity, family, vengeance, and forgiveness. Taking its cues from contemporary thought leaders in the transformative justice movement such as adrienne maree brown and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, this provocative book is a call for nuance in a time of political polarization, for healing in a time of justice, and for love in an apocalypse.
Under the Udala Trees. Chinelo Okparanta. Inspired by Nigeria’s folktales and its war, Under the Udala Trees is a deeply searching, powerful debut about the dangers of living and loving openly. Ijeoma comes of age as her nation does; born before independence, she is eleven when civil war breaks out in the young republic of Nigeria. Sent away to safety, she meets another displaced child and they, star-crossed, fall in love. They are from different ethnic communities. They are also both girls. When their love is discovered, Ijeoma learns that she will have to hide this part of herself. But there is a cost to living inside a lie.
Fun Home. Alison Bechdel. In this graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father.
Distant and exacting, Bruce Bechdel was an English teacher and director of the town funeral home, which Alison and her family referred to as the Fun Home. It was not until college that Alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. A few weeks after this revelation, he was dead, leaving a legacy of mystery for his daughter to resolve.
Tomboy Survival Guide. Ivan Coyote. Tomboy Survival Guide warmly recounts Ivan’s adventures and mishaps as a diffident yet free-spirited tomboy, and maps their journey through treacherous gender landscapes and a maze of labels that don’t quite stick, to a place of self-acceptance and an authentic and personal strength. These heartfelt, funny, and moving stories are about the culture of difference—a “guide” to being true to one’s self.
Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Colour Dreaming Her Way Home. Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. In 1996, poet Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha ran away from America with two backpacks and ended up in Canada, where she discovered queer anarchopunk love and revolution, yet remained haunted by the reasons she left home in the first place. This passionate and riveting memoir is a mixtape of dreams and nightmares, of immigration court lineups and queer South Asian dance nights; it reveals how a disabled queer woman of color and abuse survivor navigates the dirty river of the past and, as the subtitle suggests, “dreams her way home.”
She of the Mountains. Vivek Shraya. She of the Mountains is a beautifully rendered illustrated novel that weaves a passionate, contemporary love story with a re-imagining of Hindu mythology. Both narratives explore the complex ways that we are formed and transformed by love, and show how the process of learning to love and be loved by another can ultimately—and sometimes painfully—bring us back to our selves.
Indigenous Authors and Stories:
Where the Dead Sit Talking. Brandon Hobson. A 2018 National Book Award Finalist, Where the Dead Sit Talking tells the remarkable coming-of-age story of Sequoyah, a 15-year-old Cherokee boy who’s placed in the foster care system in 1980s Oklahoma. In the Troutt family’s home, he meets and bonds with Rosemary over their shared background and troubling histories. Hobson’s book confronts intergenerational trauma and the damaging effects of forced assimilation.
All the Real Indians Died Off (And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans). Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker. Tackling commonly held but false beliefs, such as “Columbus Discovered America” and “Sports Mascots Honor Native Americans,” Dunbar-Ortiz and Gilio-Whitaker offer a deftly accessible resource that would complement any older teen’s exploration of Native American history.
American Indian Stories. Zitkala-Sa. Born in 1876 and raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation, Zitkála-Šá was eight years old when Quaker missionaries appeared, offering children a free education if only they were to leave their parents — and, implicitly, abandon their cultural roots. Expecting adventure, Zitkála-Šá begged her mother to go, and though she was a model student, she refused to accept the estrangement, going on to become an activist and found the National Council of American Indians. This collection of her memories and work is ideal for teen readers, parents, and educators.
Two Roads. Joseph Bruchac. In this powerful historical novel, Cal and his father live a transient life after losing their farm during the Great Depression. Planning to join other veterans at a protest in DC, Cal’s father reveals their Creek Indian heritage and sends Cal to the Challagi School, a government-run boarding school for Native Americans. There, with fast friends who become family, Cal learns the language and customs of his community, as well as the injustices they’ve been dealt.
Talking Leaves. Joseph Bruchac. Raised by his mother and uncles, Uwohali is longing to reconnect with his father, Sequoyah, who returns to his community with a new family. Torn between loyalty to the family who raised him and his newfound passion to help his father preserve Tsalagi tradition, Uwohali comes of age in Bruchac’s vivid and history-rich tale.
The Whale Child. Keith Egawa and Chenoa Egawa, supplement by Jessica Hernandez. A look at the changing environment written by two Indigenous authors, The Whale Child tells the story of Shiny, a whale child who is turned into a boy in order to go to land and alert humans about the harm facing the oceans. On land, Shiny meets Alex, a Coast Salish girl who learns that the living spirit of water exists everywhere. With Shiny’s help, Alex promises to teach future generations about the importance of protecting Mother Earth. This illustrated chapter book is perfect for early middle grade readers.
Go Show the World. Wab Kinew. Go Show the World is a tribute to historic and modern-day Indigenous heroes, including Tecumseh and Sacagawea. With lyrical text, Wab Kinew’s book introduces readers to both popular and lesser-known Indigenous people in the U.S. and Canada. His message rings true throughout: We are people who matter.
At the Mountain’s Base. Traci Sorell. This lyrical picture book illustrates the everyday lives and traditions of a Cherokee family as they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return home from war. A celebration of family and tradition as well as Native American service members, it’s an excellent addition to home and school libraries.
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. Traci Sorell. This picture book introduces readers to otsaliheliga, the word that members of the Cherokee Nation say to express gratitude. The expression is used to celebrate the small joys of family life and the beauty of the natural world throughout the year, as well to show appreciation of loved ones.
