Out on the Shelves: Rainbow Families (Tamariki)

The books in this list are full of rainbow families! There are picture books and chapter books, adventure stories and books that celebrate all the different kinds of family there are.

There are many other books out there featuring rainbow families, but we hope that this list helps get you started.


Updated May 28, 2025
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Uncle Bobby's wedding
Brannen, Sarah S.
Paper Book
Chloe's favorite uncle is getting married, and she's not happy about it. But after a magical day with Uncle Bobby and his boyfriend, Jamie, Chloe realizes she's not losing an uncle, but gaining one. Selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best picture books of 2020 and by the American...
Daddy & Dada
Brockington, Ryan
Paper Book
Families can come in all shapes and sizes, and this heartwarming picture book affirms that no matter what your family looks like, love is the most important part! Hi, I'm Rumi. Some of my friends have one mom and one dad. Some have one mom or one dad....
The Lotterys more or less
Donoghue, Emma
Paper Book
My two dads and me
Joosten, Michael
Paper Book
Celebrate Pride every day with this adorable board book for the babies and toddlers of gay fathers, featuring a variety of diverse, loving families with two dads. Families with two dads are celebrated in this board book that follows busy fathers and their kids throughout their...
Mama and mummy and me in the middle
LaCour, Nina
Paper Book
The pirate mums
Lancet-Grant, Jodie
Paper Book
Billy's family is not what you'd call ordinary. His mums won't listen to NORMAL music. They love to sing sea shanties and dance jigs in the lounge. Their clothes are highly unusual, they have a rude parrot for a pet, and their taste in house design is, well . . . FISHY.Billy wishes his family could...
When Aidan became a brother
Lukoff, Kyle
Paper Book
Stonewall Book Award Winner - American Library Association (ALA) This sweet and groundbreaking picture book, winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, celebrates the changes in a transgender boy's life, from his initial coming-out to becoming a big brother. When Aidan was born...
My mums love me
Membrino, Anna
Paper Book
  This lyrical and heartfelt picture book is a gorgeous celebration of same-sex parents and motherhood. I love my mums and they love me together we are a FAMILY! This beautifully-told story about a same-sex family of two mums and their baby is a love...
My daddies!
Peter, Gareth
Paper Book
A funny, heartfelt picture-book celebrating same-sex parents and shared story time, perfect for introducing children to the different kinds of family in the world today. Set off on a series of incredible adventures with an adorable family as the stories they read burst into...
My footprints
Phi, Bao
Paper Book
Every child feels different in some way, but Thuy feels "double different." She is Vietnamese American and she has two moms. Thuy walks home one winter afternoon, angry and lonely after a bully's taunts. Then a bird catches her attention and sets Thuy on an imaginary exploration.
And Tango makes three
Richardson, Justin
CD
The heartwarming true story of two penguins who create a nontraditional family is narrated by award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris in this book and CD package. At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the...
Harriet gets carried away
Sima, Jessie
Paper Book
From the author and illustrator of the bestselling Not Quite Narwhal comes a sweet and funny story about remembering where you belong, no matter how far you roam, or what you're wearing when you get there. Harriet loves costumes. She wears them to the dentist, to...
A plan for Pops
Smith, Heather
Paper Book
"A positive and realistic representation of both a wheelchair user and an elderly, interracial gay male couple." --Kirkus Reviews "A beautiful and uplifting book." --School Library Journal Lou spends every Saturday with Grandad and Pops. They...
Pride Families
Taylor, Amie.
Paper Book
Families come in all different shapes and sizes, and each one is perfect! Come and celebrate what it means to be a PRIDE FAMILY in this beautifully illustrated book written by LGBTQIA+ author, Amie Taylor and Illustrated by Kaspa Clarke. LGBTQIA+ families come in all the...
Grandad's camper
Woodgate, Harry
Paper Book
A Stonewall Honor Book Children's Illustrated Book of the Year--British Book Awards Best Illustrated Book -- Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2022 Discover a wonderful grandfather-granddaughter relationship, as a little girl hatches the...

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