My Top 10
I pulled the two best books from each of my categories: “Queer Love Stories,” “My Gay/Lesbian Parent Stories,” “Trans and Gender Queer Stories,” “Gender-bending Stories,” and “Non-Narrative Stories.” I tried to represent the range of each category, for example I pulled one trans story and one Gender Queer story from my “Trans and Gender Queer Stories.” For each book, I link the Amazon plot summary, a youtube read-aloud if available, and write a mini-analysis.
Plot Summary: When a worm meets a special worm and they fall in love, you know what happens next: They get married! But their friends want to know—who will wear the dress? And who will wear the tux? The answer is: It doesn't matter. Because worm loves worm.
Youtube read aloud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A78frDhJsc
Featured by Horn Books as a top LGBTQ picture book in 2017, this is an adorably gender neutral book about two worms preparing their wedding. No one has pronouns and thus could be any gender. The worms end up being both bride and groom, wearing half the dress and half the tux each. The language is pretty simple in this book and thus easy for younger kids to understand.
Plot Summary: It is time for Prince Henry to find someone to marry, or so his parents think. Join Henry in his fairytale kingdom where certain laws apply when it comes to choosing who you can spend your life with. A fairytale romance intended for young readers, 'Prince Henry' delivers a positive message of both love and equality.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkAyo8KBeFw
A really funny story about a prince who just wants to marry his best friend (his servant, Thomas) when his father insists he must marry a prince(!) or a princess of his same social class. This book is notable because being gay is always an option and when the parade of princes and princesses gather to woo the prince, not only are they multiracial, but they are also differently abled. It is also worth noting that Olly Pike has several other LGBTQ fairytale video books: Jamie-A Transgender Cinderella, The Ice Queen and her Wife, and Princess Penny and the Pea.
Plot Summary: This bedtime story about bedtime stories shows how a lively, curious boy helps one of his moms create a magical tale. Together they weave a nighttime adventures that lands young Noah and his singing cat Diva deep in dragon territory. Join them as they make an unexpected discovery and help a new friend find his way.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVuEHsVZWA0
This book is mostly about a boy who meets a dragon (in a bedtime story) who just can’t be fierce anymore. Noah just happens to have two moms, the fact is not central to the plot or ever really discussed. Indeed, Jennifer Bryan, herself a lesbian mom, wrote the book specifically for that purpose: representation without heavy-handed moralizing. Just a really fun, fantasy kids book with a side of LGBTQ representation (and Spanish translation!).
Plot Summary: Stella's class is having a Mother's Day celebration, but what's a girl with two daddies to do? It's not that she doesn't have someone who helps her with her homework, or tucks her in at night. Stella has her Papa and Daddy who take care of her, and a whole gaggle of other loved ones who make her feel special and supported every day. She just doesn't have a mom to invite to the party. Fortunately, Stella finds a unique solution to her party problem in this sweet story about love, acceptance, and the true meaning of family.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExsDkI-5_p0
Stella has two dads which isn’t normally a problem for her, but now she has to decide who to bring to the Mother’s Day party. The other kids are surprised that she doesn’t have a mommy and ask a series of questions that reads like A Tale of Two Daddies, surprised but not mean: but, who does xyz for you like my mom does for me? Eventually she decides to bring both her dads and her aunt and uncle and cousin and grandmother. A sweet redefinition of Mother’s Day and family.
Plot Summary: In the magical time between night and day, when both the sun and the moon are in the sky, a child is born in a little blue house on a hill. And Miu Lan is not just any child, but one who can change into any shape they can imagine. The only problem is they can't decide what to be: A boy or a girl? A bird or a fish? A flower or a shooting star? At school, though, they must endure inquisitive looks and difficult questions from the other children, and they have trouble finding friends who will accept them for who they are. But they find comfort in the loving arms of their mother, who always offers them the same loving refrain: "whatever you dream of / i believe you can be / from the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea." 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 what this child becomes, their mother will love them just the same.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l3PUnnD7q8
This is a beautiful gender-queer book. The main character, Miu Lan is always changing, boy-girl, tiger-peacock, porcupine-turtle, and tons of other crazy magical combinations. They are teased and made fun of by the kids at school, even at one point trying to be like everyone else, but with the support of their mom, they are finally brave enough to just be themself. This book has strong themes of maternal love and gender (and species) fluidity. It is rare to find a book that emphasizes gender fluidity and this one does it clearly and simply.
Plot Summary: 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 his 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.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2nj-VvR994
This story is about a black trans boy (by a trans author!) getting ready for a new baby sibling. We do get the story of Aidan’s transition, but it happens as a prologue to the plot of the story. The explanation of transgender was well done, as it both affirmed Aidan’s experience of feeling like he didn’t belong as a girl and acknowledged the range of things a girl can be. The preparations for the baby were kept carefully gender neutral and Aidan worries about getting everything just perfect. But, his mother reminds him that they made mistakes and they helped each other through them with love and support and that’s what matters. The author’s note at the end of the book connects what Aidan is feeling to other transgender kids, kids that feel a little out of place, kids that worry about making mistakes, and kids like you, reader.
Plot Summary: Once upon a time, in a tower near you, Lived a sad princess; the Princess Sue. "Some day," she sighed, "my prince will come, But I wish he'd move his royal bum." But when Princess Sue's prince finally does arrive, he's not quite what she had in mind. Find out how the feisty princess escapes the clutches of her twit of a prince in this funny twist on the traditional princess tale.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAGOQl-Jhqc
This is a super funny and charming story of a princess who wishes to get rescued from her tower only to find that her prince has put her in a new sort of confinement. Instead of a savior, the prince, an enforcer of gender norms, is cast as a pompous idiot. Princess Sue happily becomes “the worst princess” and escapes her prince with the help of a new dragon friend. Together, they go on lots of mischievous adventures. This book has a fun twist on happily ever after.
Plot Summary: Morris is a little boy who loves using his imagination. But most of all, Morris loves wearing the tangerine dress in his classroom’s dress-up center. The children in Morris’s class don’t understand. Dresses, they say, are for girls. And Morris certainly isn’t welcome in the spaceship some of his classmates are building. Astronauts, they say, don’t wear dresses. One day when Morris feels all alone and sick from their taunts, his mother lets him stay home from school. Morris dreams of a fantastic space adventure with his cat, Moo. Inspired by his dream, Morris paints the incredible scene he saw and brings it with him to school. He builds his own spaceship, hangs his painting on the front of it and takes two of his classmates on an outer space adventure. With warm, dreamy illustrations, Isabelle Malenfant perfectly captures Morris’s vulnerability and the vibrancy of his imagination.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjj5yENvUj4
This is a very cute story about a little boy who loves the tangerine dress-up dress at school so much he doesn’t want to take it off, even though everyone else is pretty mean to him about it. He wins everyone over in the end, saying “this boy wears dresses!”
Plot Summary: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Pride Flag with the very first picture book to tell its remarkable and inspiring history! 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.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LU2daQ2exs
A great biography of Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay eleceted officials, and of the evolution of the rainbow flag as a symbol for gay rights. A great non-fiction story.
Plot Summary: What do you like? How do you feel? Who are you? This brightly illustrated children's book provides a straightforward introduction to gender for anyone aged 5-8. It presents clear and direct language for understanding and talking about how we experience gender: our bodies, our expression and our identity. An interactive three-layered wheel included in the book is a simple, yet powerful, tool to clearly demonstrate the difference between our body, how we express ourselves through our clothes and hobbies, and our gender identity. Ideal for use in the classroom or at home, a short page-by-page guide for adults at the back of the book further explains the key concepts and identifies useful discussion points. This is a one-of-a-kind resource for understanding and celebrating the gender diversity that surrounds us.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsXCsRnvo5M
This informational book explains terms like cisgender, gender fluid, and gender non-binary in a clear, simple way for kids. Also, the book is quite matter-of-fact about explaining the difference between sex and gender. The illustrations show a range of skin-tones and body shapes and clothing preferences. Additionally, there is a guide in the back for more information.