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25 LGBTQ+ Books for Kids, Tweens, and Teens

25 LGBTQ+ Books for Kids, Tweens, and Teens

These books will introduce your children to the LGBTQ+ community, history, and experiences.


These books about LGBTQ+ families, kids, tweens, and teens help normalize freedom of expression, same-sex parents, and love. Here are our top picks of board books, picture books, chapter books, and YA novels that celebrate the LGBTQ+ history, community, experiences, and love stories. Whether you're looking for a book for your little one or are in search of a story to help your teen, you can't go wrong with one of these books.

LGBTQ+ Books for Ages Newborn to 5

My Two Moms and Me and My Two Dads and Me

Cultivating a culture of acceptance of everyone begins with the littlest citizens. Enter My Two Moms and Me and My Two Dads and Me, both written by Michael Joosten and illustrated by Izak Zenou. These board books celebrate LGBTQ+ parents and show incredible diversity in the families. Most importantly, the books illustrate the fact that children with two moms or two dads have just as much love as kids with a mom and a dad. 

Pride Colors

Through rhymes and colorful photographs of children and loving families, Pride Colors celebrates the unconditional love of a parent or caregiver. The message is simple: Be yourself, love who you choose, and you will always be loved. Pride Colors, takes the original meanings of the colors in the Pride flag, as envisioned by creator Gilbert Baker, and turns them into a poem from parent to child.

People of Pride

This series celebrates the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ heroes and introduces little ones to those trailblazers who have shaped our world. The series currently has books about Ellen DeGeneres and Harvey Milk. The book about RuPaul Charles is set to be released Sept. 1 and is available for pre-order.

Rainbow: A First Book of Pride

This is an ode to LGBTQ+ families, and an affirming display of a parent's love for their child and a child's love for their parents. Written by Michael Genhart, the book features bright colors and joyful families, celebrates LGBTQ+ pride, and reveals the meaning behind each rainbow stripe. 

I’m Not a Girl

Based on a true transgender identity story, this picture book tells the story of Hannah, who doesn’t identify as a girl and no one seems to understand. But when Hannah learns about people who are transgender, he gains confidence to show the world who he truly is. This book is set to be published Aug. 4. 

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding

When Chloe's favorite uncle announces he's getting married, everyone (except Chloe) is excited. What if Uncle Bobby no longer has time for picnics, swimming, or flying kites? In this inspiring, love-filled story, Uncle Bobby and his boyfriend Jamie show Chloe that, when it comes to family, the more the merrier. 

Be Amazing: A History of Pride

Join drag kid Desmond is Amazing on a walk through the history of the LGBTQ+ community, and meet important people including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and RuPaul, who have paved the way for a safer, more inclusive society. Along the way, you’ll be encouraged to embrace your own uniqueness and ignore the haters. This book is set to be released July 21 and is available for pre-order.

LGBTQ+ Books for Ages 6-9

Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero

Told from the perspective of their adoring nephew, Auntie Uncle is the story of a drag queen who saves a dog and the Pride parade and brings two communities together. This is an inspiring story about letting your true self shine.

It Feels Good to be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity

With child-friendly language and vibrant art, this picture book introduces the concept of gender identity so children can obtain a fuller understanding of themselves and others while providing young readers and parents the vocabulary to discuss this important topic with sensitivity. 

The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish

Written by founding member of the nationally recognized Drag Queen Story Hour, Lil Miss Hot Mess, The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish encourages readers to be who they are. A quirky twist on a classic nursery rhyme, this book illustrates all of the ways to “work it” as it follows a drag queen who performs her routine in front of an awestruck audience.

Jacob’s Room to Choose

Jacob and Sophie don’t look like the other boys and girls in their class. They are gender non-conforming: Jacob has long hair and wears a dress to school, while Sophie has short hair and prefers to wear pants. Because of how they look, their peers chase them out of the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms. Jacob’s Room to Choose, by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, helps kids understand gender expression and stereotypes—and asks, if everyone needs to use the bathroom, why can’t bathrooms be for everyone? 

Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution.

This picture book—told from the perspective of Stonewall Inn—takes readers through the history and significance of the Greenwich Village building that started out as a horse stable in the 1840s and is now part of the National Historic Monument, the first of which honors the LGBTQ+ community. 

When Aidan Became a Brother

This groundbreaking picture book by Kyle Lukoff celebrates the changes in a transgender boy's life—from his initial coming-out to becoming a big brother.

Were I Not a Girl: The Inspiring and True Story of Dr. James Barry



This unique picture book biography by Lisa Robinson tells the story of James Barry, born female, who lived as a man from age 18 to his death in 19th-century England. He went on to medical school, became a doctor and solider, and traveled the world.

LGBTQ+ Books for Ages 10-13

Zenobia July

Zenobia is starting a new chapter in her life. She moves to Maine to live with her aunts after becoming an orphan, starts at a new school, and comes out of her shell to find her own community of new friends. The biggest change for her? She’s now living her life openly as the girl she always knew she was. But when someone anonymously posts hateful memes on the school’s website, Zen, who used to spend all her time coding and hacking, knows she’s the only one able to solve the cyber mystery.

The Henna Wars

Nishat is used to hiding her sexual orientation, but she wants to live authentically and find love, even though she worries that coming out would mean losing her family for good. But when a school competition forces her and her best friend Flávia to compete as henna artists, the closer she gets to Flávia, the harder it is for Nishat to conceal her crush. After years spent in the closet, Nishat must choose between coming out to her family or losing the chance at a relationship with Flávia.

Middle School’s a Drag, You Better Werk!

Ever the entrepreneur, 12-year-old Mikey has had many business ideas that never seem to pan out. That is, until a 13-year-old aspiring drag queen Coco Caliente, Mistress of Madness and Mayhem (aka Julian), comes into Mikey’s life and the Anything Talent and Pizzazz Agency is born. Through it all, Mikey realizes that if Julian can be openly gay at school, maybe he can too.

To Night Owl From Dogfish

When Avery Bloom and Bett Devlin’s dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent to the same sleepaway camp, much to their dismay, in hopes that they will find common ground and become friends—and possibly even sisters. But the girls soon find themselves on the summer adventure neither could have imagined.

George

When people look at George, they see a boy, but George knows she’s a girl. She thinks she’ll have to keep this secret forever, but when Charlotte’s Web is announced as the school play, George is determined to play Charlotte. So, she and her friend come up with a plan for George to be the spider in the play—and so everyone can know who George is once and for all.

LGBTQ+ Books for Ages 14 and older

The Gravity of Us

Cal, a 17-year-old with 500,000 followers, is used to sharing his life online, but when his family is relocated from Brooklyn to Houston because his father is selected for a NASA mission to Mars, he’s suddenly thrust into a media circus. And amidst it all, Cal finds himself falling in love with Leon, another “Astrokid.”

Only Mostly Devastated

Ollie and Will’s summer fling was supposed to be just that—a fling. At least, according to Will. Ollie is crushed when Will ghosts him after summer ends. He doesn’t even have time to mourn what could have been once a family emergency requires him to start at a new school thousands of miles away from his old one. But who does he run into at his new school? None other than Will, who is closeted and hot-and-cold at best with Ollie. Ollie knows he should probably leave Will alone…but what if neither of them really want that?

Music From Another World

It’s 1977, and the only way Tammy can vent about being a closeted lesbian at a strict Christian high school is through her diary, in which she writes unsent letters to Harvey Milk about her hopes, worries, and experiences. That is, until she’s matched with a pen pal named Sharon who she bonds with her over punk rock and emotions they both would prefer to keep secret. But as anti-gay sentiments reach frightening new heights, they must choose what—and who—they’re willing to stand for.

We Are Totally Normal

Written by Rahul Kanakia, this book follows Nandan, who has high ambitions for his junior year of high school—namely, to have a perfect one. But when he hooks up with his friend Dave at a party, all of his carefully crafted plans fall apart. Nandan has always considered himself straight before this, but he can’t deny how much he cares for Dave. As the two take their relationship into the public, Nandan is nervous about what his sexuality means for himself in ways that Dave doesn’t understand.

You Should See Me in a Crown

In Liz Lighty’s small Midwestern town, prom is one of the biggest events of the year. Liz, however, has other things on her mind, like getting into Pennington College and its acclaimed student orchestra. And her high school’s scholarship awarded to prom king and queen could be the perfect ticket for Liz to achieve her dreams. Can she win the crown without falling for Mack, a charming and funny fellow student running for prom queen?

Felix Ever After

Felix desperately wants to know what love feels like and why it seems so easy for everyone else to find it. Even though he’s proud of his identity as a Black, queen, transgender teen, Felix fears he’s one marginalization too many to live happily ever after—especially when someone begins anonymously sending him transphobic messages after posting Felix’s deadname and images before he transitioned. But what happens when Felix falls into a quasi-love triangle in his plan for revenge?

 

 

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