Five Picture Books to Help Parents Introduce LGBTQ Topics with Their Kids
My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart is about a little boy who likes things he "isn't supposed" to like, like dressing up and princesses. But his dad shows him that everyone has a shadow they sometimes want to hide, and that it's okay to like what we like. Follow it up with My Shadow is Purple.
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love is another book about a supportive parent. Julian sees mermaids while riding home with his abuela. While his abuela is preoccupied, he scrounges everything he needs to make himself a mermaid. When she catches him, he is afraid that he'll be in trouble but she supports him in the sweetest way—by taking him to the mermaid festival! If you love this one, you'll also love Julian at the Wedding.
Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They! by Lindz Amer is a great way to introduce the language around gender and gender euphoria. The author discusses how the correct pronouns make you feel with examples that will resonate with children.
This Day in June by Gale E Pitman is a joyful, rhyming explanation of what one might see at their first Pride Parade. As a picture book, it is full of images of different types of families and members of the LGBTQ community. It's a fun read for kids but the last few pages are clearly written for caregivers and older readers. There's a paragraph explaining the significance of each page in the book--from rainbows, to music, to dresses. This book is a great, quick primer for someone who needs to explain or understand a Pride Parade.
Queer and Fearless by Rob Sanders introduces readers to several LGBTQ heroes through poetry and biographical information. This colorful, delightful picture book will be good for reading aloud or learning about people. It covers heroes like Storme DeLaverie, Harvey Milk, and Pauline Park.
Related Posts
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
MomsRising.org strongly encourages our readers to post comments in response to blog posts. We value diversity of opinions and perspectives. Our goals for this space are to be educational, thought-provoking, and respectful. So we actively moderate comments and we reserve the right to edit or remove comments that undermine these goals. Thanks!