“When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl,” the book starts. When Aidan Became a Brother is recommended by multiple queer librarians and booksellers for its heartwarming tale of a family navigating their son’s emerging trans identity while they prepare to welcome a second child. Here are their picks, along with options to support independent, queer-owned bookstores. We asked Champoux, as well as a dozen other queer librarians, educators, and booksellers, for their reading recommendations for kids of all ages.

And today there are hundreds of age-appropriate children’s books exploring queer families, history, gender expression, and more.īut for those of us who grew up in eras when those books didn’t exist-or in communities where they weren’t yet accessible-it can be hard to know where to start in choosing books for our own kids. Reading books about LGBTQ life and identity shows all children how others live, while also holding up a mirror for some kids to see themselves, said Nicole Champoux, a Montessori school administrator and teacher in Washington state. In 1993, my school district drew nationwide attention for removing and banning Annie on My Mind-one of the first young adult novels about two girls who fall in love-at a time when I was beginning to struggle with my own identity. Silencing basic information prevents them from understanding their world, fictionalizes reality for all kids-and further erases those who are LGBTQ.

But many kids today are growing up with queer parents and other extended family members, as well as in communities with queer families and classmates.

Legislation like Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act-known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law-and increased attempts to ban books censor discussions on sexuality and gender identity with young people.

Dragon school parent review