Books for Kids: June is Pride Month

Our book list comes from the Committee of the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association. This list contains titles in our Youth Services Collection.

For more information and for additional lists, please visit their website: https://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/. We thank the librarians who have taken the time to select these titles each year.

Updated October 17, 2023
Libraries of Middlesex Automation ConsortiumScotch Plains Public Library
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Aaron Slater, illustrator
Beaty, Andrea
Aaron Slater loves listening to stories and dreams of one day writing them himself. But when it comes to reading, the letters just look like squiggles to him, and it soon becomes clear he struggles more than his peers. When his teacher asks each child in the class to write a story, Aaron can't...
Forever home : a dog and boy love story
Cole, Henry
A heart-tugging story about an abandoned dog who is looking for a forever home -- and a boy who finds him! A Kirkus 2022 Best Picture Books of the Year ★ "An exquisitely rendered, touching story of companionship and belonging." - Kirkus Reviews, starred...
The best bed for me
Cornwall, Gaia
From the creator of Jabari Jumps and Jabari Tries, the tale of a stalling child with a lively imagination--and a passion for animal facts--makes for the best kind of bedtime story. Mama and Mommy would like Sweet Pea to settle into bed, but it's not quite...
Mr. Watson's chickens
Dapier, Jarrett
Interrupting Chicken meets Click, Clack, Moo in this zany classic-in-the-making! With rollicking rhythms, nonsensical refrains, and too many chickens to count, this modern classic will inspire unstoppable giggles and endless rereads. Bawka-bawka! Mr....
I love you because I love you
Van, Muon
Author Muợn Thị Văn and Stonewall Book Award-winning artist Jessica Love detail all the big and small reasons why we love the people we do within a call-and-response picture book that features families across the spectrum. "I love you because you tell the best stories...
Drew Leclair gets a clue
Bury, Katryn
In this modern take on Harriet the Spy, twelve-year-old Drew uses her true crime expertise to catch the cyberbully in her school--only to discover that family, friendship, and identity are the hardest mysteries to solve. Drew Leclair knows what it takes to be a great detective. She's pored...
Moonflower
Callender, Kacen
Kacen Callender, National Book Award winner of King and the Dragonflies, delivers a stunning novel that invites readers into a child's struggles with mental health, and their journey to wholeness. Moon's depression is overwhelming. Therapy doesn't help, and Moon is afraid that their mom...
Love, Violet
Wild, Charlotte Sullivan
Stonewall Book Award Winner Lambda Literary Award Finalist Charlotte Huck Honor Book Perfect for Valentine's Day, Love, Violet by Charlotte Sullivan Wild and Charlene Chua is a touching picture book about friendship and the courage it takes to share...
The lock-eater
Clark, Zack Loran
"Will have readers tumbling through the pages . . . Deeply immersive, full of both heft and humor." -Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series * "One of those special books that only comes around every so often . . . An...
Tiger honor
Lee, Yoon Ha
Sebin, a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan, wants nothing more than to join the Thousand World Space Forces and, like their Uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin's acceptance letter finally arrives, it's accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a...
In the key of us
Lockington, Mariama
Stonewall Book Awards--Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Honor Book From the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me and the Schneider Family Book Award Winner Forever Is Now, comes a coming-of-age story...
Different kinds of fruit
Lukoff, Kyle
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,...
The science of being angry
Melleby, Nicole
From the acclaimed author of Hurricane Season, an unforgettable story about what makes a family, for fans of Hazel's Theory of Evolution and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World.   Eleven-year-old Joey is angry...
You only live once, David Bravo
Oshiro, Mark
From Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of The Insiders, this time-bending adventure is perfect for fans of Sal and Gabi Break the Universe and When You Reach Me. A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * An ALA Rainbow Book List Top 10 Selection Middle school is the worst,...
Ellen outside the lines
Sass, A. J.
Winner of a Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor! A heartfelt novel about a neurodivergent thirteen-year-old navigating changing friendships, a school trip, and expanding horizons for fans of Rain Reign and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. ...
Bathe the cat
McGinty, Alice B.
It's cleaning day, but the family cat will do anything to avoid getting a bath. So instead of mopping the floor or feeding the fish, the family is soon busy rocking the rug, vacuuming the lawn, and sweeping the dishes. Bouncy rhyme carries the story headlong into the growing hilarity, until...
The rainbow parade
Neilson, Emily
A sweet and celebratory story of a family's first time at Pride One day in June, Mommy, Mama, and Emily take the train into the city to watch the Rainbow Parade. The three of them love how all the people in the street are so loud, proud, and colorful, but when Mama suggests they...
Kapaemahu
Wong-Kalu, Hinaleimoana
An Indigenous legend about how four extraordinary individualsof dual male and female spirit, or Mahu, brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii, based on the Academy Award-contending short film. In the 15th century, four Mahu sail from Tahiti to Hawaii and share their gifts of...

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