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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The pants project
Clarke, Cat
Ebook
The Lotterys plus one
Donoghue, Emma
Audiobook
My parents won't stop talking!
Hunsinger, Emma
Paper Book
A child's plans are ruined when her parents have the gall to stop to talk to the neighbors in My Parents Won't Stop Talking!, a laugh-out-loud picture book about patience by Emma Hunsinger and Tillie Walden. It's time to go to the park, and Molly can't wait! It's going...
Tuesday is Daddy's day
Kreloff, Elliot
Paper Book
A charming look at the many forms a happy family can take--whether she's with Mommy at her house, or with Daddy and his partner Harry at their apartment, this little girl always knows she's loved. The little girl in this story loves her busy routine. Some days Mommy picks...
This would make a good story someday
Levy, Dana Alison
Paper Book
From the author of The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher comes an epic cross-country train trip for fans of Dan Santat's Are We There Yet? and Geoff Rodkey's The Tapper Twins. Pack your suitcase and climb on board with the Johnston-Fischer family.    ...
Different kinds of fruit
Lukoff, Kyle
Paper Book
In this funny and hugely heartfelt novel from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Too Bright to See, a sixth-grader's life is turned upside down when she learns her dad is trans Annabelle Blake fully expects this school year to be the same as every other: same teachers,...
My rainbow
Neal, Trinity
Paper Book
A dedicated mom puts love into action as she creates the perfect rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, based on the real-life experience of mother-daughter advocate duo Trinity and DeShanna Neal. Warm morning sunlight and love fill the Neal home. And on one quiet day,...
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. What if she could...
Marley's pride
Retener, Joe?lle
Paper Book
A 2025 American Library Association Stonewall Children's Honor Book! ALA Rainbow Book List - Top 10 Titles for Younger Readers, 2025 ★ "A Black nonbinary child finds ways to navigate their sensory sensitivities...
And Tango makes three
Richardson, Justin
Paper Book
And Tango Makes Three is the bestselling, heartwarming true story of two penguins who create a nontraditional family. At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family...
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...
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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