Pride Month Reading Recommendations
June is Pride Month! As this month comes to a close, let's continue to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community with amazing books that are great to read all year long.
Board Books and Picture Books
If It’s Pride and You Know It… by Andy Passchier (also known as Anne Passchier)
This interactive board book is a new twist on a classic children’s song, and it's moving parts are great for helping develop fine motor skills. A QR code on the back allows the option to sing along as you explore the diversity among characters who are all celebrating Pride together.
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
Share in this sweet board book that includes a variety of family shapes and sizes, demonstrating that love is truly what makes a family.
Rainbow: A First Book of Pride by Michael Genhart
This book shows the meaning behind each color in the now-iconic rainbow flag. Be proud and smile along as you share this story with loved ones.
My Rainbow by Trinity and DeShanna Neal
Trinity, a black, autistic, transgender girl, wants to have hair that truly expresses who she is. Her mother and family support her in all aspects of her identity and help her find a way to show off to the world exactly who she is inside and out. This beautifully illustrated book, written by a non-binary mother and their transgender daughter, is an amazing celebration of transgender and black children.
Princess Puffybottom… and Darryl by Susin Nielsen
This adorably funny and sweet book shows the relationship between Princess Puffybottom, a cat enjoying her life as the only pet in the household. This life is disrupted when her owners, a same-sex female couple, bring home Darryl, an excited puppy. Princess Puffybottom must learn to get along with Darryl and any other surprises her owners might be bringing home to her. This book is beautifully illustrated and is a great example of how LGBTQIA+ families exist in the world as any other family does.
Juvenile Fiction
Both Can Be True by Jules Machias
This book explores the binary aspects of the world we live in, both for a non-binary tween and a cisgendered boy struggling with masculine gender norms. Ash, who has a very fluid gender identity, works with a new friend, Daniel, to rescue a dog that was going to be euthanized. The two grow closer and together try to embrace living in the grey instead of the black and white of a binary world.
Obie is Man Enough by Schyler Bailar
Written by the first openly transgender NCAA Division I men’s athlete, this book follows Obie as he transitions from female to male. He is forced to leave his swim team and deal with bullying while his strong support system allows him to figure out who he is and gain confidence as himself.
The Greatest Superpower by Alex Sanchez
Jorge and Cesar, his twin brother, feel upended after they are told about their parents' upcoming divorce, especially after being told that the reason is that their father is coming out as a transgender woman. This is a heartfelt story following the family's experience with navigating a parent's gender transition.
Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela
Juniper Harvey’s life had already changed a lot after her family's relocation to Florida, but it changes even more after a princess from a magical other world appears in her room. Juniper teams up with her to find the princess’s missing crown that will allow her to return home. This humorous book is great for those that love magic and mythology.
Graphics
Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo
Indu is a boy from the moon who was adopted as a child. Now, his Indonesian mom is about to get married, so they leave their spaceship home to live on Earth in a new blended family. Themes of fitting in and finding yourself shine throughout the characters and their stories which are told through beautiful artwork.
Princess Princess Ever After by K. O’Neill (previously published under Katie O’Neill)
This adventure-filled graphic novel follows two princesses, Amira and Sadie, who are very different types of princesses. Amira no longer lives the princess life, instead traveling as a hero to save those in need. Sadie is someone who needs saving; she has been living in a tower prison. The two discover that they work well together as they go on an adventure across the kingdom. The illustrations showcase both racial and body type diversity throughout.
Turning Twelve by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks
In this sequel to Growing Pangs, Katie begins to experience big changes in her life that come from entering adolescence. This book explores anxiety and OCD as well as navigating first crushes. Both the author and illustrator identify as queer and have experience with OCD, something that is shared in notes to the reader at the end.
Adorable Empire by Laura Terry
This cute and sweet graphic novel also has moments of seriousness as it shows growing up and going through changes. Jinx is a goth kid who moves into a new apartment with her mom after her parents get divorced. This big change and other stressors from growing up are hard enough, but a magic crystal changes her life even more summoning small magical creatures, the Adorables. These creatures love causing chaos and follow her everywhere.
Non-Fiction
Queer Mythology: Epic Legends from Around the World by Guido A. Sanchez, illustrated by James Fenner
This collection of short legends from around the world features beautiful illustrations and demonstrates that queer stories have been shared for as long as humans have existed.
Play Proud: Fiercely Fabulous Queer Athletes by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Izzy Evans
In this quick picture-book, read about a variety of queer athletes from a variety of sports from hockey to dressage and weightlifting. A glossary at the back provides basic facts about each athlete.
Are You a Friend of Dorothy?: The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped by Kyle Lukoff
LGBTQIA+ individuals have not always been able to share their identities as openly as they can today, and as a result, they used different symbols or phrases to find safety and companionship with others. ‘Are you a friend of Dorothy?’ is one such phrase discussed in this informative book.
Stonewall: A Building, An Uprising, A Revolution by Rob Sanders
The Stonewall Inn is one of the most important locations in queer history. This book personifies the Stonewall Inn to allow it to tell the story of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 that led to a greater civil rights movement for the queer community.
Queer Latine Heroes: 25 Changemakers from Latin America and the U.S. from History and Today by Sofía Aguilar
Gorgeous illustrations accompany short biographies of influential queer Latine individuals throughout history and today. The diversity of politicians, activists, artists, sports stars, and more showcase the amazing impacts that queer Latine people have made in our world.
A Kids Book About Queer Mental Health by Brian Femminella
This series is amazing for providing basic information meant to be read with your child. In this installment, readers are reminded of their importance in the world.
Biographies
Pauli Murray: Shouting for the Rights of All People by Deborah Nelson Linck
This biography is a great biography for tweens about the life of Pauli Murray. Pauli was an activist who was important to the civil rights movement and worked towards gender equality for everyone. Occasional illustrations throughout the book show Pauli growing from childhood into the first African American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest.
Who is Cynthia Erivo? by Crystal Hubbard
This is a short book detailing the life of actress and singer Cynthia Erivo- most recently of Wicked fame. Her accomplishments and successes, especially from such a young age, are highlighted beautifully. The book does mention her involvement in GLAAD but unfortunately fails to mention that she herself identifies as queer and bisexual.
Billie Eilish by Martha London
The first few years of Billie Eilish's music career are detailed in this short biography. While this biography discusses a time before she came out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, it is a great glimpse into her success, and quotes from her add a personal touch.
Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio
This book focuses on the protest song “Strange Fruit,” which was written by Abel Meeropol, a son of Jewish immigrants, and sung by Billie Holiday, an African-American bisexual woman famous for her blues and jazz music. The song drew attention to the deep-rooted racism that still took the lives of many black Americans at the time it was first sang in 1939.
Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington by Michael G. Long
This book follows Bayard Rustin, a Black, gay civil rights activist who, inspired by Gandhi’s pacifism and march to free India, helped plan the 1963 March on Washington.
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