Category: Snapshots of LGBTQ Kid Lit
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J. P. Miller’s Bayard Rustin (2021)
Bayard Rustin (2021), written by J. P. Miller and illustrated by Markia Jenai, is a Rourke Education Media publication. The press creates texts that align with curriculum standards and primarily promotes to libraries and schools. Bayard Rustin is part of their Leaders Like Us series, which includes biographies of other…
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Jodie Patterson’s Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope (2021)
Like many picture books about transgender or nonbinary youth, Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope (2021), is written by the mother of a transgender child. Author, Jodie Patterson, and illustrator, Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, create a celebratory picture book that introduces readers to Penelope, a young Black…
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Norene Paulson’s Benny’s True Colors (2020)
Written by Norene Paulson and illustrated by Anne Passchier, Benny’s True Colors (2020) is a story about a butterfly everyone thinks is a bat. Benny the butterfly is constantly misidentified, because he looks like a bat. Although Benny looks like a bat, he feels like a butterfly and enjoys doing…
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Kerri Mullen’s Eli’s New Clothes (2020)
Kerri Mullen’s Eli’s New Clothes (2020) is a sweetly illustrated story about a young girl named Chloe and her relationship to her favorite dolls. Chloe loves Elizabeth, Vanessa, and Caroline. She enjoys dressing them up in beautiful clothes and playing tea party. Unbeknownst to Chloe, when she leaves for school,…
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Maddox Lyons and Jessica Verdi’s I’m Not A Girl (2020)
I’m Not A Girl (2020), co-written by Maddox Lyons and Jessica Verdi and illustrated by Dana Simpson, is the story of a transgender boy who develops clarity and confidence about his identify as well as the ability to self-advocate. The cover depicts a white child with long red hair, freckles,…
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Daniel Errico’s The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived (1999)
The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived (1999), written by Daniel Errico and illustrated by Shiloh Penfield, follows Cedric, a young quick-witted boy who begins life on a pumpkin farm as he grows up, becomes a knight, and falls in love with a prince. Cedric is given the opportunity to serve…
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Margaret Baker-Street’s Michael and Me (2014)
Margaret Baker-Street’s Michael and Me (2014) is a first-person narrative focused on a second-grade boy named Brian and his reaction to a classmate’s gender transition. The story opens at the start of a new school year. One of Brian’s classmates comes to school post-transition using the name Michael as well…
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Michael Genhart’s Rainbow (2019)
Written by Michael Genhart, PhD and illustrated by Anne Passchier, Rainbow: A First Book of Pride (2019) is a colorful celebration of rainbow families that introduces very young readers to the symbolism behind the Pride flag. The first page proclaims: “Every color means something.” The corresponding image shows a racially…
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Karamo Brown’s I am Perfectly Designed (2019)
Written by Karamo Brown and illustrated by Anoosha Said, I am Perfectly Designed (2020) is a beautiful exploration of a father-son relationship. Said’s use of color sets the tone and the diverse characters she scatters across the page emphasizes the story’s moral of acceptance. The phrase “perfectly designed” repeats throughout…
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Katrina McKelvey’s Isla’s Family Tree (2020)
Isla’s Family Tree (2020), written by Katrina McKelvey and illustrated by Prue Pittock, is a warm and inviting story that manages to be both minimalist and richly specific. The red-haired title character is not excited that her mother is about to give birth to twins. She tells her parents that…
Raise Them Righteous 