Looking for a picture book that explains important moments and people in LGBTQ+ history? Or an uplifting story that explores acceptance and diversity? The carefully selected children’s books are our featured titles for the LGBTQ Writers in Schools 2022-23 school year. Full of history, fun, and LGBTQ+ joy, these books introduce are perfect for young readers.
Titles are alphabetical by author.
Drawing on Walls
Truly devoted to the idea of public art, Haring created murals wherever he went.
From Matthew Burgess, the much-acclaimed author of Enormous Smallness, comes Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring. Often seen drawing in white chalk on the matte black paper of unused advertising space in the subway, Haring’s iconic pop art and graffiti-like style transformed the New York City underground in the 1980s. A member of the LGBTQ community, Haring died tragically at the age of thirty-one from AIDS-related complications. Illustrated in paint by Josh Cochran, himself a specialist in bright, dense, conceptual drawings, this honest, celebratory book honors Haring’s life and art, along with his very special connection with kids.
Matthew Burgess is a full-time professor at Brooklyn College and a part-time teaching artist in NYC. He is the author of a poetry collection and six children’s books, including Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring and Bird Boy. He lives with his husband in Brooklyn and Berlin.
Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!
Someday girls like us will be able to wear whatever we want. People will call us by the names we choose. They’ll respect that we are women. The cops will leave us alone and no one will go hungry.
Sylvia and Marsha are closer than sisters. They are kind and brave and not afraid to speak their truth, even when it makes other people angry.
This illustrated book introduces children to the story of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, the two transgender women of colour who helped kickstart the Stonewall Riots and dedicated their lives to fighting for LGBTQ+ equality. It introduces children to issues surrounding gender identity and diversity, accompanied by a reading guide and teaching materials to further the conversation.
Dr. Joy Michael Ellison is a writer, a teacher and scholar, and a grassroots, community activist. They write fiction, nonfiction, and poetry about queer and trans history for both children and adults. They believe storytelling is integral to healing, transformation, resistance, and survival.
If You’re a Kid Like Gavin
When you’re a kid like Gavin Grimm, you know yourself best. And Gavin knew that he was a boy–even if others saw him as a girl. But when his school took away his right to something as simple as using the boy’s restroom, Gavin knew he had a big decision to make.
Because there are always more choices than the ones others give you.
Gavin chose to correct others when they got his pronouns wrong. He asked to be respected. He stood up for himself. Gavin proved that his school had violated his constitutional rights and had the Supreme Court uphold his case–bringing about a historic win for trans rights. There are many kids out there, some just like Gavin Grimm, and they might even be you.
What choices will you make?
Gavin Grimm is a 23 year old transgender man and victor of a landmark lawsuit filed in 2015 by the ACLU regarding his right to use the boy’s bathroom at school. He recently published a book with author Kyle Lukoff titled If You’re a Kid like Gavin.
Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers, including the Newbery honor title “Too Bright To See” and the Stonewall award winning “When Aidan Became A Brother.” He spent eight years as a school librarian and now writes full time.
A Princess of Great Daring!
When Jamie is ready to tell people that she’s really a girl inside, she becomes a princess of great daring in a game she plays with her best friends to gather her courage. She’s pleased (but not surprised) that her questing friends turn out to be just as loyal and true as any princess could want.
Tobi Hill-Meyer is an Indigenous Chicana trans woman. She believes creating stories is a critical part of making change, they can give us strength, model paths to success, provide encouragement, and create greater empathy. She is dedicated to community support and fighting for positive change at a local level.
When Aidan Became a Big Brother
When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl’s room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn’t fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life.
Then Mom and Dad announce that they’re going to have another baby, and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning–from choosing the perfect name to creating a beautiful room to picking out the cutest onesie. But what does making things right actually mean? And what happens if he messes up? With a little help, Aidan comes to understand that mistakes can be fixed with honesty and communication, and that he already knows the most important thing about being a big brother: how to love with his whole self.
When Aidan Became a Brother is a heartwarming book that will resonate with transgender children, reassure any child concerned about becoming an older sibling, and celebrate the many transitions a family can experience.
Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers, including the Newbery honor title “Too Bright To See” and the Stonewall award winning “When Aidan Became A Brother.” He spent eight years as a school librarian and now writes full time.
When We Love Someone We Sing to Them
When We Love Someone We Sing to Them reframes a treasured cultural tradition to include LGBTQ experience. In this book, we learn about the Mexican tradition of singing to family and loved ones through one boy who naturally assumes the tradition includes him and his experience.
Watch a tradition expand as limitations are lifted to include everyone, all the way to remembering Xochipilli, the Mesoamerican deity of creativity, song, and dance.
A perfect book to bring tradition and inclusion into the conversation and support our LGBTQ young ones in knowing that they belong and always have, while providing pride in both our Mexican heritage and our LGBTQ culture and history as families.
A bilingual story with illustrations (English/Spanish).
Ernesto Javier Martínez is an award-winning Chicano/Puerto Rican writer and educator, best known for the the animated kids movie Daniel Visits a New Neighborhood: The Movie (PBS KIDS, 2022), the short film La Serenata (HBO Max, 2019), and the bilingual queer children’s book, When We Love Someone We Sing to Them. He teaches at the University of Oregon.
‘Twas the Night Before Pride
This joyful picture-book homage to a day of community and inclusion–and to the joys of anticipation–is also a comprehensive history. With bright, buoyant illustrations and lyrical, age-appropriate rhyme modeled on “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” it tackles difficult content such as the Stonewall Riots and the AIDS marches. On the night before Pride, families everywhere are preparing to partake. As one family packs snacks and makes signs, an older sibling shares the importance of the march with the newest member of the family. Reflecting on the day, the siblings agree that the best thing about Pride is getting to be yourself. Debut author Joanna McClintick and Pura Belpré Award-winning author-illustrator Juana Medina create a new classic that pays homage to the beauty of families of all compositions–and of all-inclusive love.
Joanna McClintick is a social worker at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center in Manhattan, and writes children’s books and songs. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.
My Moms Love Me
“A hug from Mommy, warm and tight.
A squeeze from Mama feels just right.
This is how my mommies say,
‘We love you, baby, night and day!”‘
Two mommies share a perfect day with their little one in this joyful picture book! From visiting animals on a farm and sharing a car ride sing-along, to a sudsy bath-time and bedtime snuggles galore, love and warmth beam out of every page. Rhyming, rhythmic text from author Anna Membrino is the perfect storytime read-aloud, paired alongside luminous, glowing illustrations from artist Joy Hwang Ruiz. With the lyrical sweetness of favorites like I Love You Through and Through and Guess How Much I Love You, this picture book is the perfect way to celebrate love for LGBTQ+ families!
Anna Membrino (she/they) is a queer author and editor with over ten years’ experience in children’s book publishing. They specialized in picture books and early readers in the editorial departments of Random House Children’s Books and Scholastic. She is the editor of the #1 NYTimes bestseller Grumpy Monkey, and is the author of thirteen books for kids.
Chabelita’s Heart/El Corazón de Chabelita
Chabelita’s hopes come true when Jimena, the new student whose eyes sparkle like stars, sits next to her. The more they learn about each other, the more they like each other and the more time they spend together. When Chabelita shares her special bow tie with Jimena on picture day, everybody knows that they like each other.
With the support of family and the reflection of important role models, Chabelita’s Heart shows two kids as they grow into themselves and understand that “girls can like girls.” Experiences of immigration/deportation, indigenous eco-activism, Mexican LGBTQ activism, as well as Mexican and Honduran culture serve as the backdrop highlighting the intersectionality of LGBTQ people.
Isabel Millán is the author and illustrator of Chabelita’s Heart/El corazón de Chabelita, a queer bilingual children’s picture book. She is a queer Chicana with a PhD from the University of Michigan, and teaches courses on gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and children’s literature at the University of Oregon. Millán’s research and publications focus on queer of color children’s literature and autofantasías.
Not a Cat: A Memoir
Between his opening greeting and the bookend closing page on which he stalks away after taking no questions, Gato wants to make one thing perfectly clear: Although he has four legs, two ears, and a long, long tail, the word “cat” does not define him. His identity is his alone to describe and determine. With the help of Danica Novgorodoff’s laugh-out-loud illustrations, he takes us on a tour of his adventures, accomplishments, and daily activities that makes mincemeat of our first impressions. He wears a sweater and a leash, so is he a dog? He runs in pastures, so is he a horse? He likes flowers, so is he a bee? He swims, so is he a duck? He has flown in airplanes and ridden in subways, so is he a person? Maybe he’s all those things, but what he truly is, he wants us to know, is Gato.
To underline the story’s message of empowerment and self-identity, the back cover and backmatter include photos of the real Gato (Winter Miller’s cat) doing everything he claims and more. Signs on walls, headlines in newspapers, New Yorker cartoon homages, and sight gags on every page reward repeated readings and will make this book the first one that parents reach for at bedtime.
Raised by activist feminist parents and schooled by Quakers, Winter Miller is surprisingly amusing. She makes and champions art to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Eartha Kitt once held her left hand for five minutes. She writes plays, mostly. Not a Cat is her first children’s book.
Kind Like Marsha
Kind Like Marsha celebrates 14 amazing and inspirational LGBTQ+ people throughout history. Fan favorites like Harvey Milk, Sylvia Rivera, and Audre Lorde are joined by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Frida Kahlo, and more in this striking collection. With a focus on a positive personality attribute of each of the historical figures, readers will be encouraged to be brave like the Ugandan activist fighting for LGBTQ+ rights against all odds and to be kind like Marsha P. Johnson who took care of her trans community on the New York City streets.
Sarah Prager is the author of Queer, There, and Everywhere, Rainbow Revolutionaries, Kind Like Marsha, and A Child’s Introduction to Pride, all about LGBTQ+ history. She has spoken on that topic across eight countries and her writing has also appeared in outlets like the New York Times, National Geographic, and NBC News.
Bling Blaine: Throw Glitter, Not Shade
Blaine’s a boy who loves to shine . . . well actually, he loves to sparkle. Whether it’s his uniform, his book bag, or even his baseball cap, Blaine’s all about the bling. But when his bling rubs some people the wrong way, and the bullying begins, Blaine–along with the entire school–starts to lose his shine. Can Blaine’s friends bring back his glimmer and gleam by glittering up their own wardrobes? This delightful story proves that anyone can love bling, and that happiness comes when allies band together to throw glitter–not shade.
Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in LGBTQIA+ literary nonfiction picture books. Rob took early retirement from teaching and now writes full time.
Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag
Pride is a beacon of (technicolor) light. –Entertainment Weekly
In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno’s evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable – and undertold – story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride.
Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in LGBTQIA+ literary nonfiction picture books. Rob took early retirement from teaching and now writes full time.
The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford
The Mother of a Movement is a true story of parental support and unconditional love. It tells the story of Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG. When her son Morty was beaten by New York City officials for handing out pro-gay leaflets, Manford wrote a powerful letter to the New York Post to complain about how Morty was treated. In the letter she came out as the mother of a gay son. The letter was published. Morty invited his mother to march with him in the June 1972 Christopher Street Parade. While marching, she had the idea to form a group to help parents and families of LGBTQ+ people. That was the beginning of PFLAG.
Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in LGBTQIA+ literary nonfiction picture books. Rob took early retirement from teaching and now writes full time.
Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution.
A powerful and timeless true story that will allow young readers to discover the rich and dynamic history of the Stonewall Inn and its role in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement–a movement that continues to this very day. In the early-morning hours of June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided by police in New York City. Though the inn had been raided before, that night would be different. It would be the night when empowered members of the LGBTQ+ community–in and around the Stonewall Inn–began to protest and demand their equal rights as citizens of the United States
Movingly narrated by the Stonewall Inn itself, and featuring stirring and dynamic illustrations, Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution is an essential and empowering civil rights story that every child deserves to hear.
Rob Sanders is a teacher who writes and a writer who teaches. He is known for his funny and fierce fiction and nonfiction picture books and is recognized as one of the pioneers in LGBTQIA+ literary nonfiction picture books. Rob took early retirement from teaching and now writes full time.
The Meaning of Pride
Every year in June, we celebrate Pride! But what does Pride mean? And how do you celebrate it?
This inspiring celebration of the LGBTQ+ community throughout history and today shows young readers that there are many ways to show your pride and make a difference.
Whether you want to be an activist or an athlete, a poet or a politician, a designer or a drag queen, you can show your pride just by being you!
Rosiee Thor began her career as a storyteller by demanding to tell her mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. She spent her childhood reading by flashlight in the closet until she came out. She lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and an abundance of plants.
