Queer representation in board books is dismal. There are very, very few books that portray gender difference or non-hetero couples in any way for the youngest readers, and those that exist are heavily concentrated on what my new crush The Diverse Book Finder calls “Beautiful Life” books: books that “explicitly focus on the diverse expressions of human experience, depending on these elements to drive the storyline.” That is, books about the differences in categories of people, not individuals. And when the characters are treated as individuals, the preponderance of them are presented as gay men, with women or NB adults given no roles that would be credited in a movie.
But the trickle of LGBTQ-inclusive titles published in the last 20 years appears to be increasing somewhat, and there are several new books out now and forthcoming in 2020 that are pretty darn cute.
(Some of these are affiliate links. You can also check out my version of the LGBTQ-representing board books list on Bookshop.org, where links support me and your local bookseller.)
Baby’s First Words (Amazon | Indiebound) A progression through an adorable baby’s day with her two dads, with plenty of fun things to point at and name.
Tinyville Town: I’m a Librarian (Amazon | Indiebound) A journey through the day of a librarian, who is illustrated waking up next to his husband and going to sleep the same way.
Bell’s Knock-Knock Birthday (Flamingo Rampant) A nonbinary birthday kiddo gets excited for their party. This is actually paperback, but the content feels appropriate to toddlers, with noises, counting, and who’s there? surprises.
Prince & Knight (Amazon | Indiebound) A sweet romance set in the fairy-tale land of dragons and dramatic rescues.
And Tango Makes Three (Amazon | Indiebound) Two male penguins in the Central Park Zoo form a mating pair and raise an egg a zookeeper brings them into a chick. Sets out “difference” but celebrates the family.
Pride Colors (Amazon | Indiebound) A colorful book of photos of adorable babies and their families, with rhymed text gently supporting self-expression and a section on Pride and the Pride Flag at the back.
Compare and contrast Our Rainbow (Amazon | Indiebound), which is expressly about the Pride flag. I do not think it is possible for a small child to have too many rainbow items.
Federico and All His Families (April 2020) (Amazon | Indiebound) Oh my gosh this looks SO cute. A Spanish import, not much info available as of yet. Federico the cat goes from home to home in his neighborhood, visiting many configurations of families who love him and receive his love in return. Promised in English and Spanish.
Ellen DeGeneres (People of Pride) (Amazon | Indiebound) A baby-sized biography planned as the first in a series celebrating LGTBQ heroes; forthcoming in March 2020
Spirit Day (Amazon | Indiebound) The concepts here are aiming high but the artwork is lovely, with characters who pop right off the page despite the fact that they’re neither continuous through the book nor discussed in the text.
*Love Makes a Family (Amazon | Indiebound) Joyfully chaotic artwork and minimal text depict different configurations of families in the middle of their happy lives, whether it’s a impromptu play put on by kids for their two moms or a bearded giant of a dad having a tea party with his daughter in a treehouse. It’s a different family on every page, but a hit with my kids, who like to look at and name all the family members and talk about what they’re doing.
The Family Book (Amazon | Indiebound) Todd Parr shows lots of kinds of families, with his trademark fun, simple, explicit text and face-meltingly bright color palette.
Good Night Families (Amazon | Indiebound) So many kinds of families to say goodnight to! Fine but hard to get excited about.
An ABC of Equality (Amazon | Indiebound) has “L is for LGBTQIA: LGBTQIA is a short description of a range of identities to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and asexual. It’s okay to be whoever you want to be.” There’s also G for Gender and S for Sex, along with C for Class and I for immigration. Fun stuff to point to and cute illustrations; it’s never too early to start talking about intersectionality; it’s a great feeling to be able to reflect on your values with your kids; I do not think the average 9-month-old is going to be able to do much with this.
There’s also several sets of same-sex parent identity books—these are the only options I found for two moms as actual characters, not “extras;” there are also dad equivalents of each.
Mommy, Mama and Me (Amazon | Indiebound) – 2006, one particular set of moms, soft and cuddly illustrations, talks about what the parents do for the baby
Daddy, Papa and Me (Amazon | Indiebound) – 2006, one particular set of dads, soft and cuddly illustrations, talks about what the parents do for the baby
Hugs of Three: My Mommies and Me (Amazon | Indiebound)- 2012, one particular set of moms, cartoon-style illustration, talks about what the family does together and emphasizes the bond between parent and child
Hugs of Three: My Daddies and Me (Amazon | Indiebound) - 2012, one particular set of dads, cartoon-style illustration, talks about what the family does together and emphasizes the bond between parent and child
My Two Dads and Me (Amazon | Indiebound) - 2019, a series of different sets of dads, chic fashion plate illustrations
My Two Moms and Me (Amazon | Indiebound) - 2019, a series of different sets of moms, chic fashion plate illustrations
If you’re looking for more:
OurShelves is a book delivery service that focuses on increasing diversity in what’s available in picture books by putting market forces to work: “Our collective and repeat purchasing of book boxes allows us to organize and prove a sustained market demand for high-quality diverse kids' books. OurShelves connects existing hard-to-find content to the many seeking it, which ensures these books receive the sales they deserve. (Currently, too many diverse books are under-performing in sales because their target audiences don't know they exist.)“
This is a super exciting project, and talking with founder Alli Harper has only increased my respect for her advocacy. Here’s Alli’s letter to the LGBTQ+ Community and a 2018 post she wrote before the launch of the service that recommends some picture books with LGBTQ representation.
And check out this amazing list from the Vancouver Public Library for picture books with LGBTQ representation!