Rainbow Reads - LGBTQIA+ Picture Books

Updated June 12, 2025
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We are little feminists : families
Paper Book
2021 Stonewall Award Winner - the first ever board book to win an American Library Association medal! Beautiful photos of real LGBTQ and ally families showcase all the wonderful forms of family, gender, and sexuality while poetic text builds both vocabulary and empathy. FAMILIES helps families and...
Love makes a family
Beer, Sophie
Paper Book
This fun, inclusive board book celebrates the one thing that makes every family a family . . . and that's LOVE. Love is baking a special cake. Love is lending a helping hand. Love is reading one more book. In this exuberant board book, many different families are...
Busy Pride : Push, Pull Slide
Books, Campbell
Young children can push, pull, and slide the tabs to join in with the celebrations in Busy Pride. Get dressed up, join the rainbow parade, sing along with the performers, then have a sunny garden party! Little ones will love playing with this bright, colourful...
Bodies are cool
Feder, Tyler
Paper Book
This cheerful love-your-body picture book for preschoolers is an exuberant read-aloud with bright and friendly illustrations to pore over.   From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the...
Calvin
Ford, Ronald Martin, Jr.
Paper Book
In this joyful and impactful picture book, a transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time. Calvin has always been a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl. He knows who he is in his heart and in his...
Leo and the pink marker
Foster, Mariyka
Paper Book
It's fun to color outside the lines in this playful celebration of family, creativity, and the color pink! Leo LOVES doodling away with his pink marker! So when Mom and Mama aren't looking, he finds an opportunity to liven up the dusty, gray scrapyard. A splash of pink would look...
Ho'onani : hula warrior
Gale, Heather (Children's author)
Paper Book
Based on a true story, Ho'onani: Hula Warrior is a celebration of Hawaiian culture and an empowering story of a girl who learns to lead and learns to accept who she really is - and in doing so, gains the respect of all those around her.
My paati's saris
Gopal, Jyoti Rajan
Paper Book
A Tamil boy explores his love for his grandmother and her colorful sari collection in this tale of expressing your true self. Another exciting day with Paati begins with a host of fun activities done in preparation for tonight's party; threading flowers into garlands for...
My fade is fresh
Grant, Shauntay
Paper Book
A little girl makes sure she walks out of the barbershop rocking the fabulous hair style she chooses. Learn the importance of speaking up for what you want through this fun and empowering picture book. When a little girl walks into her local barbershop, she knows she...
Pink, blue, and you! : questions for kids about gender stereotypes
Gravel, Elise
Paper Book
Simple, accessible, and direct, this picture book is perfect for kids and parents or teachers to read together, opening the door to conversations about gender stereotypes and everyone's right to be their true selves. Is it okay for boys to cry? Can girls be strong? Should...
Circle of love
Gray Smith, Monique
Paper Book
Everyone is welcome in the circle. In this warmhearted book, we join Molly at the Intertribal Community Center, where she introduces us to people she knows and loves: her grandmother and her grandmother's wife, her uncles and their baby, her cousins, and her treasured friends...
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...
O.K. Is Gay
Kirsch, Vincent X.
Paper Book
Author-illustrator Vincent X. Kirsch's picture book O.K. Is Gay is a bold celebration of being who you are and loving who you love Olivio Kipling, known to his friends as O.K., has something to say: He loves George, and he can't wait to share his feelings with his whole...
Mama and Mommy and me in the middle
LaCour, Nina
Paper Book
A little girl stays home with Mama when Mommy goes off on a work trip in this tender, inviting story that will resonate with every child who has missed a parent. For one little girl, there's no place she'd rather be than sitting between Mama and Mommy. So when Mommy goes away on...
Over the shop
Lawson, JonArno
Paper Book
In a beautifully detailed wordless picture book, a tumbledown building becomes home sweet home for a found family. A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. But taking over the quarters above their store will mean major...
Julian is a mermaid
Love, Jessica
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! Winner of a 2019 Stonewall Book Award In an exuberant picture book, a glimpse of costumed mermaids leaves one boy flooded with wonder and ready to dazzle the world. While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela...
Are you a friend of Dorothy? : the true story of an imaginary woman and the real people she helped
Lukoff, Kyle
Paper Book
Two starred reviews! From Newbery Honor and Stonewall Book Award-winning author Kyle Lukoff and celebrated picture book illustrator Levi Hastings comes an "venturesome, refreshingly frank" (Booklist, starred review) picture book about how people found community in a...
Call me Max
Lukoff, Kyle
Paper Book
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...
Téo's tutu
Macias, Maryann Jacob
Paper Book
This story of a boy's first ballet recital celebrates gender-creativity, the joy of dance, and being yourself Teo loves to dance, whether it's the cumbia with Papi, the bhangra with Amma, or ballet class with Miss Lila. He also loves the way his tutu makes him feel, inside and...
Plenty of hugs
Manushkin, Fran
Paper Book
Cover may vary Two mommies spend a sunny day with their toddler in this cozy, rhyming picture book that is a loving celebration of family. This cheerful book follows a family from morning to night in lively rhyme that rolls off the tongue. There's a buzz for each...
'Twas the night before Pride
McClintick, Joanna
Paper Book
A glittering celebration of queer families puts Pride gently in perspective--honoring those in the LGBTQ+ community who fought against injustice and inequality. Pride's . . . a day that means "Together, we are strong!" This joyful picture-book homage to a day...
Bathe the cat
McGinty, Alice B.
Paper Book
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...
My moms love me
Membrino, Anna
Paper Book
Cuddle up and celebrate love in this picture book that shines a spotlight on LGBTQ+ moms! "A hug from Mommy, warm and tight. A squeeze from Mama feels just right. This is how my mommies say, 'We love you, baby, night and day!"' Two...
Our subway baby
Mercurio, Peter
Paper Book
This gentle and incredibly poignant picture book tells the true story of how one baby found his home. "Some babies are born into their families. Some are adopted. This is the story of how one baby found his family in the New York City subway." So begins the true...
The rainbow parade
Neilson, Emily
Paper Book
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...
My mommies built a treehouse
Peter, Gareth
Paper Book
Building a treehouse is a big project. But when your mommies are there to help you, there's nothing that can stop you! When one boy sets out to build the treehouse of his dreams, there's so much to consider - from finding the perfect tree to drawing up the plans. There are certainly...
My Maddy
Pitman, Gayle E.
Paper Book
A loving, affirming ode to parents who are gender fluid or gender nonbinary. My Maddy has hazel eyes which are not brown or green. And my Maddy likes sporks because they are not quite a spoon or a fork. Most mommies are girls. Most daddies are boys. But lots of parents are neither a boy...
The every baby book
Preston-Gannon, Frann
Paper Book
The Every Baby Book is a cute, inclusive board book celebrating the things that families of all kinds share--and the love at the heart of each one.   Every baby's day is different, but lots of first experiences are shared, too. The youngest reader...
Marley's Pride
Retener, Joelle
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...
Pride colors
Stevenson, Robin
Paper Book
★ "Awash in messages of love and the celebration of individuality... A rare treat for both Pride Day and everyday sharing."--School Library Journal, starred review ★ "A good thing comes in a small, rainbow package...A joyful, affirming, pride-filled read."--Kirkus Reviews,...
Pride puppy!
Stevenson, Robin
Paper Book
★"[A] sheer delight and will be a welcome addition to shelves everywhere. Highly--and proudly--recommended." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review ★ "This engaging introduction to Pride parades for the youngest readers successfully testifies to the warmth and power of queer...
It feels good to be yourself : a book about gender identity
Thorn, Theresa
Paper Book
A picture book that introduces the concept of gender identity to the youngest reader from writer Theresa Thorn and illustrator Noah Grigni. Some people are boys. Some people are girls. Some people are both, neither, or somewhere in between. This sweet,...
Gorgeously me!
Van Ness, Jonathan
Paper Book
"An animated look at celebrating who you are and never letting others dim your light." --Kirkus reviews A celebration of all the things that make you extraordinary, unique, and gorgeously YOU, by Jonathan Van Ness, New York Times bestselling author and star of...
I love you because I love you
Van, Muon
Paper Book
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...
Not he or she, I'm me
Wild, A. M.
Paper Book
A Stonewall Book Award Honor Book "The warmth of everyday gender euphoria is burnished to brilliant radiance" (BCCB, starred review) in this joyous picture book about a day in the life of a non-binary child. A child gets ready for a wonderful day. They...
Kapaemahu
Wong-Kalu, Hinaleimoana
Paper Book
An Indigenous legend about how four extraordinary individuals of dual male and female spirit, or Mahu, brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii, based on the Academy Award-contending short film. A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Century In the 15th...
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...
Grandad's pride
Woodgate, Harry
Paper Book
Grandad and Milly are back for another adventure, this time honoring the past and celebrating the future with a pride parade. This heartwarming tale continues to wonderful journey that began with the Stonewall Honoree, British Book Award winner, and Waterstones Best Illustrated Book, Grandad's...
The ABCs of queer history
Yasmin, Seema
Paper Book
A Through-the-Alphabet Celebration of Queer History in the US, from the Publisher of the New York Times Bestseller The ABCs of Black History   In a beautiful picture book brimming with P for Pride, writer and poet Seema Yasmin and...

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