Welcome to Family Equality’s Book Nook, a comprehensive list of the best LGBTQ+ books for the whole family!
Whether you’re searching for your child’s first picture book or a young adult novel that your tween will devour, Family Equality’s Book Nook is a list of our favorite books that represent diverse families in a loving and respectful way.
Check out the search portal below to discover what new LGBTQ+ books you need to add to your at-home, local, or school libraries!
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Xander’s Story Paperback
Christopher J Garcia-Halenar and Alejandro M Garcia-Halenar
Xander’s Story is a wonderfully vibrant picture book which guides children through a baseline understanding of surrogacy. Xander’s journey begins in the initial stage of him being just a dream to the final stage of when he becomes a gift. Xander, his little brother Max, and his two Dads, Alex and Chris Garcia-Halenar live in South Florida. Both Alex and Chris always wanted a family and began their surrogacy journey soon after falling in love. Believing that every child’s story is unique and should be celebrated, they wrote Xander’s Story so their son will always know how special he is.
Zinnia and Dot
Lisa Campbell Ernst
Meet Zinnia and Dot–two plump, self-satisfied hens who bicker constantly about the quality of their eggs. Whose are more lustrous, shapely, smooth? Their rivalry rages until a weasel bursts in and steals the eggs–all but one, a particularly prime specimen. Just in time, they realize they’ve got to stick together to protect their prized egg.
After Tupac and D Foster
Jacqueline Woodson
The narrator of this story and her best friend Neeka’s lives change forever the summer D Foster came to town. D shows the girls life outside their close-knit Queens community. With subplots about Tupac Shakur’s death, and Neeka’s gay brother serving prison time for being framed for a hate crime, Woodson takes her readers on a complex ride through coming of age.
Cher Upon a Midnight Clear
Matteo B. Bianchi and translated by Wendell Ricketts
How do adults know when something is for boys and when it’s for girls? Who tells them so? Where do they learn it? For eight-year-old Luca, it’s a mystery, but if he can’t convince his parents to give him the white ice skates he has his heart set on, Christmas is going to be ruined. Who does a child turn to when he can’t even count on Santa Claus?
Drama
Raina Telgemeier
Raina Telgemeier, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of the Eisner Award winner, SMILE, brings us her next full-color graphic novel . . . DRAMA!
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi, she’s a terrible singer. Instead, she’s the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier!
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Jacqueline Woodson
Melanin Sun has a lot to say. But sometimes it?s hard to speak his mind, so he fills up notebooks with his thoughts instead. He writes about his mom a lot? they?re about as close as they can be, because they have no other family. So when she suddenly tells him she?s gay, his world is turned upside down. And if that weren?t hard enough for him to accept, her girlfriend is white. Melanin Sun is angry and scared. How can his mom do this to him?is this the end of their closeness? What will his friends think? And can he let her girlfriend be part of their family?
Gay America: Struggle for Equality
Linas Alsenas
Profusely illustrated with archival images, the groundbreaking Gay America reveals how gay men and women have lived, worked, and loved for the past 125 years. Gays and lesbians play a very prominent role in American life today, whether grabbing headlines over political gains, starring in and being the subject of movies and television shows, or filling the streets of nearly every major city each year to celebrate Gay Pride. However, this was not always the case, and this book charts their journey along with the history of the country.
Harriet the Spy
Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them.
Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together?
Luv Ya Bunches
Lauren Mryacle
What do Katie-Rose, Yasaman, Milla, and Violet have in common? Other than being named after flowers, practically nothing. Katie-Rose is a film director in training. Yasaman is a computer whiz. Milla is third in command of the A list. And Violet is the new girl in school. They’re fab girls, all of them, but they sure aren’t friends. And if evil queen bee Medusa—’scuse me, Modessa—has her way, they never will be. But this is the beginning of a new school year, when anything can happen and social worlds can collide . . .
My Mixed Up, Berry Blue Summer
Jennifer Gennari
June Farrell is sure of one thing—she’s great at making pies—and she plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security and their business. Even when faced with bullying, June won’t give up on winning the blue ribbon; more importantly, she won’t give up on her family.
More Resources for LGBTQ+ Families
Once you put down your most recent purchase, check out all the other activities, resources, and programs we create to support and connect LGBTQ+ families like yours across the country!
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Have an LGBTQ+ book you’d like to submit to our list?
If you know about an LGBTQ+ book that isn’t on our list, but should be—let us know! Use the form below to contact a staff member, and we’ll be in touch about next steps.