LGBTQ Children’s and Young Adult Titles

LGBTQ Book Resources

American Library Association’s Rainbow Project Book List
Lambda Literary Awards
The Make It Safe Project
Teaching Tolerance
Lee Wind’s blog I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell Do I Read?
We Need Diverse Books

 

Titles in purple are some of my favorites!

Picture and Board Books:

  • 
Combs, Bobbie. ABC: A Family Alphabet Book. 
  • De Haan, Linda. King and King.
  • Fierstein, Harvey. The Sissy Duckling.
  • Garden, Nancy. Molly’s Family.
  • Herthel, Jessica and Jazz Jennings. I Am Jazz.
  • Kennedy, Joseph. Lucy Goes to the Country.
  • Kilodavis, Cheryl. My Princess Boy.
  • Lazar, Tara. Normal Norman.
  • Meyers, Susan.  Everywhere Babies.

  • Newman, Lesléa. Daddy, Papa, and Me.
  • Newman, Lesléa. Heather Has Two Mommies: 20th Anniversary Edition.
  • Newman, Leslea. A Fire Engine for Ruthie.
  • Polacco, Patricia. In Our Mothers’ House.

  • Richardson, Justin and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three.
  • 
Simon, Norma. All Families Are Special.
  • U’Ren, Andrea. Pugdog.
  • Valentine, Johnny. The Daddy Machine.
  • Willhoite, Michael. Daddy’s Roommate.
  • Zolotow, Charlotte. William’s Doll.

Middle Grade:

  • Atkinson, Elizabeth. From Alice to Zen and Everyone In Between.
  • Federle, Tim. Better Nate than Ever.
  • Gennari, Jennifer. My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer.
  • Gino, Alex. George. [2015, First middle-grade to feature a transgender protagonist]
  • Howe, James. The Misfits. [Inspiration for National No Name-Calling Week]
  • Howe, James. Totally Joe.
  • Jahn-Clough, Lisa. Country Girl, City Girl.
  • Philips, A.A. If You Believe in Mermaids…Don’t Tell.
  • Sanchez, Alex. So Hard to Say.
  • Walliams, David. The Boy in the Dress.

Young Adult:

  • Bauer, Marion Dane. Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
  • Brothers, Meagan. Debbie Harry Sings in French.
  • Cameron, John. Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You.
  • Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
  • Cronn-Mills, Kirstin. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children.
  • Danforth, Emily. The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
  • Donovan, John. I’ll Get there. It Better be Worth the Trip.
  • Freyr-Weyman, My Heartbeat.
  • Garner, Abigal. Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is.
  • King, A.S. Ask the Passengers.
  • Kluger, Steve. My Most Excellent Year: a Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park.
  • LaRochelle, David. Absolutely, Positively Not….Gay.
  • Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy.
  • Levithan, David and Billy Merrell, editors. The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Questioning and Other Identities.
  • Levithan, David. Two Boys Kissing.
  • Levithan, David & John Green. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
  • Lurie, April. The Less-Dead.
  • Myracle, Lauren. Kissing Kate
  • Nelson, Jandy. I’ll Give You the Sun.
  • Nguyen, Eric, editor. Resilience: Stories, Poems, Essays, Words for LGBT Youth.
  • Ryan, Sara. Empress of the World.
  • Ryan, Sara. The Rules for Hearts.
  • Peters, Julie Anne. Keeping You a Secret.
  • Peters, Julie Anne. Luna.
  • Saenz, Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
  • Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow High
  • Savage, Dan and Terry Miller, editors. It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living.
  • Lisa Williamson, The Art of Being Normal
  • Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love.