LGBTQIA+ Pride Month
2021
LGBTQIA+ Pride Month
Each year, communities around the world gather to celebrate Pride Month-- a month dedicated to raising awareness, recognition, and celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexed, asexual, and more community. This is a month of celebrating people's intention to live their own identity.
June marks Pride Month in remembrance of the uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 28, 1969. That night police raided this gay club, during a time when homosexuality was very criminalized. The club's patrons, many of whom were gay, lesbian, transgendered, rose up in defiance of this social injustice and spilled out into the neighboring Christopher Street area. Their refusal to remain hidden marked a turning point in LGBTQIA+ history. From this event, many people rose up and began to embrace their Pride in being themselves. In 1999, Bill Clinton was the first American President to recognize Pride Month. Then, in 2009, President Barack Obama declared June LGBT Pride Month.
Spotlight Author - Leslea Newman
The best place to find out all about Leslea Newman is her website https://lesleakids.com/
Picture Books
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries!
Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone!
Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff
It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book about Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn
This sweet, straightforward exploration of gender identity will give children a fuller understanding of themselves and others. With child-friendly language and vibrant art, It Feels Good to Be Yourself provides young readers and parents alike with the vocabulary to discuss this important topic with sensitivity.
Not Every Princess by Jeffrey and Lisa Bone PsyD
Who do you want to be: a princess? Pirate? Teacher or scientist?
And where would you like to play: a castle? Pirate ship? Library or spacelab?
It’s your decision to make, so think away. Your imagination and thoughts can create pictures and scenes, the most beautiful amazing picturesque dreams!
Not Every Princess takes readers on a poetic journey gently questioning the rigid construction of gender roles and inspiring readers to access their imaginations and challenge societal expectations. It intends to encourage all of those princesses and pirates who did not fall into a life of castles and boats that they too are no less than what they dream to be.
Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress.
But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?
Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love’s author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality.
Upper Elementary Books
George by Alex Gino
George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy.
With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.
The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
When Dad tells Bea that he and his boyfriend, Jesse, are getting married, Bea is thrilled. Bea loves Jesse, and when he and Dad get married, she'll finally (finally!) have what she's always wanted--a sister. Even though she's never met Jesse's daughter, Sonia, Bea is sure that they'll be "just like sisters anywhere."
As the wedding day approaches, Bea will learn that making a new family brings questions, surprises, and joy.
The Whispers by Greg Howard
Frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation, Riley decides to take matters into his own hands. So he goes on a camping trip with his friend Gary to find the whispers and ask them to bring his mom back home. But Riley doesn't realize the trip will shake the foundation of everything that he believes in forever.
The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake
When Sunny St. James receives a new heart, she decides to set off on a "New Life Plan": 1) do awesome amazing things she could never do before, 2) find a new best friend, and 3) kiss a boy for the first time.
Her "New Life Plan" seems to be racing forward, but when she meets her new best friend Quinn, Sunny questions whether she really wants to kiss a boy at all. With the reemergence of her estranged mother, Sunny begins a journey to becoming the new Sunny St. James.
This sweet, tender novel dares readers to find the might in their own hearts.
Night Owl and Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.
When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends--and possibly, one day, even sisters.
But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can't imagine life without each other, will the two girls (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
Lily Jo McGrother, born Timothy McGrother, is a girl. But being a girl is not so easy when you look like a boy. Especially when you're in the eighth grade.
Dunkin Dorfman, birth name Norbert Dorfman, is dealing with bipolar disorder and has just moved from the New Jersey town he's called home for the past thirteen years. This would be hard enough, but the fact that he is also hiding from a painful secret makes it even worse.
One summer morning, Lily Jo McGrother meets Dunkin Dorfman, and their lives forever change.
Middle Grade Novels
Rick by Alex Gino
Redwood and Ponytail by K.A. Holt
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy—that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?"
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
Mysteriously, Ivy's drawings begin to reappear in her locker with notes from someone telling her to open up about her identity. Ivy thinks--and hopes--that this someone might be her classmate, another girl for whom Ivy has begun to develop a crush. Will Ivy find the strength and courage to follow her true feelings?
Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World exquisitely enriches the rare category of female middle-grade characters who like girls--and children's literature at large.
Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Slate Favorite Book of the Year
A small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical in this winning middle grade novel that The New York Times called "inspired and inspiring."
Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.
Tim Federle's "hilarious and heartwarming debut novel" (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up-because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.
Gracefully Grayson by Amy Polonsky
Then Grayson auditions for The Myth of Persephone at the urging of the wonderful Humanities teacher. Intending to read for the role of Zeus, at the last minute he decides to try out for Persephone. When Grayson gets the part, his aunt is furious, believing the teacher crossed a line (he did call their family first). Grayson’s parents died in a car accident when he was four, but the discovery of letters written by his mom are a revelation: As a preschooler, Grayson insisted he was a girl, and Grayson’s parents were trying their best to be supportive of Grayson’s expression of identity.
Grayson begins wearing a pink heart shirt underneath a sweatshirt, and hanging out at play practice with the girls, who love to braid Grayson’s hair, all the while coming closer to speaking the truth once more: I am a girl.
Young Adult Books
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.
Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
But when she meets sweet, easygoing football star Grant, Amanda can't help but start to let him into her life. As they spend more time together, she realizes just how much she is losing by guarding her heart. She finds herself yearning to share with Grant everything about herself, including her past. But Amanda's terrified that once she tells him the truth, he won't be able to see past it.
Because the secret that Amanda's been keeping? It's that at her old school, she used to be Andrew. Will the truth cost Amanda her new life, and her new love?
Meredith Russo's If I Was Your Girl is a universal story about feeling different and a love story that everyone will root for.
The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief.
The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal.
Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus
Minneapolis. Sixteen-year-old Mabel is lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out why she feels the way she feels–about her ex Terrell, about her girl Jada and that moment they had in the woods, and about the vague feeling of illness that’s plagued her all summer. Mabel’s reverie is cut short when her father announces that his best friend and his just-arrived-from-Trinidad daughter are coming for dinner.
Mabel quickly falls hard for Audre and is determined to take care of her as she tries to navigate an American high school. But their romance takes a turn when test results reveal exactly why Mabel has been feeling low-key sick all summer and suddenly it’s Audre who is caring for Mabel as she faces a deeply uncertain future.
Junauda Petrus’s debut brilliantly captures the distinctly lush and lyrical voices of Mabel and Audre as they conjure a love that is stronger than hatred, prison, and death and as vast as the blackness between the stars.
PET by Akwaeke Emezi
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman
In this beautiful, heartbreaking work, she explores that pain, and the tragedy that fueled it, through poems that examine what happened from multiple and often surprising perspectives. The fence to which Shepard was bound by his attackers is a recurring voice. The stars in the sky are helpless and dismayed as they look down on Matthew Shepard, who wasn’t found for eighteen hours.
Notes on the poetic forms are also provided in a book that moves through and beyond despair, offering moments of comfort and hope, especially in how what happened to Matthew Shepard led to reflection and change in some hearts and minds.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
Liz is one of a small number of Black students at her small-town Indiana high school and out only to her closest friends. One of them throws herself into managing Liz’s campaign, seeking to transform quiet, intentionally under-the-radar Liz into a serious contender. New student Mack (Amanda McCarthy) is also running. Mack, a legacy (her mother was prom queen) and Liz are soon falling for each other, and it’s both exciting and complicated: Mack doesn’t care about winning but doesn’t want a closeted relationship, and Liz is convinced a lesbian has no chance of being prom queen.
A novel offering both humor and substance combines romance with friendship tension and family worries, including Liz’s brother illness: Robbie has sickle cell anemia, the same disease that killed their mom. This thoughtful and entertaining story also examines the high school’s failure to support LGBTQ students, and Liz’s love of music. Above all, it celebrates Liz’s growing confidence in asserting all aspects of her identity, for love, yes, but first and foremost for herself.
The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
With a welcome mix of humor, heart, and high-stakes drama, Sabina Khan provides a timely and honest portrait of what it's like to grow up feeling unwelcome in your own culture.
Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali has always been fascinated by the universe around her and the laws of physics that keep everything in order. But her life at home isn't so absolute. Unable to come out to her conservative Muslim parents, she keeps that part of her identity hidden. And that means keeping her girlfriend, Ariana, a secret from them too. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life at home and a fresh start at Caltech in the fall. But when Rukhsana's mom catches her and Ariana together, her future begins to collapse around her.
Devastated and confused, Rukhsana's parents whisk her off to stay with their extended family in Bangladesh where, along with the loving arms of her grandmother and cousins, she is met with a world of arranged marriages, religious tradition, and intolerance. Fortunately, Rukhsana finds allies along the way and, through reading her grandmother's old diary, finds the courage to take control of her future and fight for her love.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.
Little and Lion by Brandy Colbert
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she's isn't sure if she'll ever want to go back. L.A. is where her friends and family are (as well as her crush, Emil). And her stepbrother, Lionel, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, needs her emotional support.
But as she settles into her old life, Suzette finds herself falling for someone new...the same girl her brother is in love with. When Lionel's disorder spirals out of control, Suzette is forced to confront her past mistakes and find a way to help her brother before he hurts himself--or worse.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger and Rovina Cai
Determined to find the killer, Ellie investigates with the help of her best friend Jay, who is white (a descendant of Oberon, although Jay’s magic is faint). Evidence soon points to a doctor from nearby Willowbee, a small, mysterious, whitewashed Texas town where he has a secretive clinic and lives in a house guarded by vampires. Not all vampires are evil—Jay’s sister is dating one who joins the effort to catch Trevor’s killer—but these most certainly are.
The more Ellie learns, the greater the danger, including, her mother cautions, risks that go hand-in-hand with her gift. Ellie’s search for justice, and rest for her cousin’s spirit, is also a story of family ties and family history, friendship, loss, and self-discovery in a novel with an engaging, original plot; unique, creative world-building; and terrific characterizations, including the depiction of Ellie as asexual. Black-and-white illustrations at the start of each chapter depict Six Great’s story.
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills
My birth name is Elizabeth, but I'm a guy. Gabe. My parents think I've gone crazy and the rest of the world is happy to agree with them, but I know I'm right. I've been a boy my whole life. When you think about it, I'm like a record. Elizabeth is my A side, the song everybody knows, and Gabe is my B side-not heard as often, but just as good. It's time to let my B side play.
Graphic Novels
Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork.
Soon to be streaming on Netflix!
Shy and soft-hearted Charlie Spring sits next to rugby player Nick Nelson in class one morning. A warm and intimate friendship follows, and that soon develops into something more for Charlie, who doesn't think he has a chance.
But Nick is struggling with feelings of his own, and as the two grow closer and take on the ups and downs of high school, they come to understand the surprising and delightful ways in which love works.
Bingo Love, Vol. 1 by Tee Franklin
Decades later, now in their mid-’60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage. This is a touching story of love, family, and resiliency that spans over 60 years.
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
2020 Stonewall - Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes and grappling with how to come out to family and society.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity-what it means and how to think about it-for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
It's also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand.
Flamer by Mike Curato
"This book will save lives." ―Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of National Book Award Finalist Hey, Kiddo
I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both.
I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe.
It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes―but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
It’s a miserable cycle, and it’s affecting Freddy’s friendships, especially with her best friend Doodle. In fact, Freddy is so wrapped up in her Laura drama that she’s oblivious to the fact that Doodle is going through a crisis—she’s pregnant and could use Freddy’s support.
Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani
In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.
Teaching Books Resources
Educational Websites with LGBTQIA+ Resources
Works Cited
“Book Summaries.” Library / Destiny Library Catalog, Follett Solutions, 2021, swdestinyssl.judsonisd.org/.