5 LGBT children’s books you can read to your kids
It’s nice to know that we’ve progressed far enough from the dark days of LGBT discrimination that we now have LGBT children’s books that inquiring kids can read.
Though there’s still a lot of work to be done, we now live in the age where there is some freedom to love whoever you want to love– and this message can now be read in LGBT children’s books as well.
Here are five LGBT children’s books that promote queer visibility:
It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr
Aimed at children first beginning to read, this story is filled with a message of acceptance, understanding, and confidence,i.e. it’s okay for you to be different, and it’s okay to have different moms and different dads, too.
This book inspires children to be confident in their own skin, teaching them to celebrate their individuality through acceptance of others and of themselves.
Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman
This LGBT children’s book was one of the first. This charming story follows Heather, whose favorite number is two. She has two arms, two legs and two pets– and she also has two mommies.
It was released back in 1989, when the very idea of same-sex marriage was preposterous to those who held conservative ideologies, but a dream to those who hoped.
A Tale of Two Daddies by Vanita Oelschlager and Kristin Blackwood
This story is a look through the eyes of a child at the adults who nurture and care for her.
It is centered around a conversation between two children in a playground, where a boy asks if a girl has two dads. The girl says that’s right, she has Daddy and Poppa.
I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jenning, and Shelagh McNicholas
Based on Jazz’s real-life experience, this story is a wonderful tale of a transgender child discovering and embracing her identity.
In this book, Jazz relates that she knew that she had a girl’s brain in a boy’s body ever since she was two years old.
The Answer by Rebecca Sugar, Elle Michalka, and Tiffany Ford
This children’s book is adapted from the Steven Universe TV show episode of the same title. It tells us the story of the gem fusion character, Garnet, and how the two gems that make her up, Ruby and Sapphire, met and fell in love.
In this story, Ruby and Sapphire discovered they could fuse and create “something entirely new.” The idea provides both children and adults alike with a wonderful representation of a same-sex relationship.