It’s not until he is asked by purple to draw him a blue ocean that he finally finds a place where he belongs. All crayons come with a label but is that label always, right? Red came from the factory with a red outside but even when he tried, and trust me he tried, all he could do was color blue. It made me cry the first two times I read it with my children because it’s so beautiful. Red: A Crayon’s Story by Micheal Hall is my new favorite book. He just didn’t know it was a possibility and I think that is a good reminder for why books like this matter. I also loved how the next day the little boy who was so sure that two moms weren’t possible was totally cool with it. I loved even more how Molly became shy about displaying her drawing because it gave me a chance to talk to my 6-year-old about the power of words and not listening to others and how dismissing people can hurt. Molly’s classmate that was sure two moms was simply impossible wasn’t told that he was wrong instead the teacher discussed how different every family was and how Molly’s was just as much a family has his or any other. There are many things I love about this book but most of all it is the adult reactions to this child saying it’s not possible that drew me in. The story is about Molly who is in kindergarten and after she draws a picture at school of her two moms she is faced with a classmate telling her she can’t have two moms. Molly’s Family by Nancy Garden had both my kids captivated when I read it to them at lunch yesterday. The book itself is amazingly creative and a great book about acceptance even if you don’t dive head first into a discussion about transgender issues with your kids they will still like it. While my 3 year old is too young to get the various levels of this book she understands that it’s OK for people to dress how they want and my 7-year-old is old enough to understand that gender is not always black and white. Only Laurel an older girl who accepts Bailey as she views herself calls her a girl. What I love about this book is that while the narrator refers to Bailey as she all of Bailey’s family refers to Bailey as a boy. For me, I saw this as an opportunity to talk about adversity. His family is NOT accepting at all and you must know that. He tries to tell his family about his dreams, but they brush them off reminding Bailey he is a boy and boys shouldn’t dream of dresses. The book goes through all different things families do together and there is a big mix of same-sex parents, single parents, and bi-racial families all doing their thing… being together!ġ0,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert is a story about a little boy who doesn’t feel like a little boy and dreams of the most amazing dresses every night.
I love that it’s not out to explain because the families in this book are just being families. This is a great book that normalizes same-sex weddings and focuses instead on the things that matter most to the children- how they are going to be affected.ĪBC A Family Alphabet Book by Bobbie Combs is a great alphabet book that doesn’t aim to explain same-sex families it just includes them. The issues are about how close Chloe is to Uncle Bobby and how she doesn’t want that to change. Now you might think that the issues are around the fact that he’s marrying another male guinea pig but that’s not it at all. Brannen is a sweet book about a little guinea pig Chloe and her issues with her uncle getting married. Here is my list of 21 positive children’s books about LBGT families.
The kids that are made to feel shame when they should feel pride, the children who are unable to find books that represent the family they love so very much, and the kids that need books to act as a window to new understanding. The thing is this list isn’t about me, or the people I make mad by publishing it, it’s about the kids. Every year I get emails, facebook posts, and comments telling me why it is wrong to write this list. Every year in June I post a book list filled with LGBT positive books as an easy to access resource for anyone who needs it. This is my Pride Book List for Kids from 2017 for this year’s list of 90 LGBTQ+ positive books for children check out The 2021 Ultimate Pride Book List here.Īll families should be celebrated, all children should have a chance to see their family represented in picture books, and all children should be taught that families come in so many different combinations.