katherine locke | Lost in a Good Book

Different Types of LGBTQIA Picture Books

Just like how there’s no one type of story, there is also no one type of LGBTQIA picture book. Picture books are a great way of exploring different kinds of diverse stories and can introduce kids and families to a variety of different experiences. There are books about different families, books about characters falling in love, and books about characters discovering who they are on the inside. The range of books has grown dramatically in the past few years and it’s wonderful to see so many different books represented both rooted in reality, through animal stories, as well as metaphor and fantasy.

Any search of LGBTQIA picture books will give you a myriad of results and a range of books to look for. I’ve compiled a list of a few different types of picture books that explore LGBTQIA history, identity, and families. There are so, so, many more available, this is obviously a small selection, but is it is a great example of the different approaches to diverse stories and how representation can come in a variety of stories.

Books with LGBTQIA characters

I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings

Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship by Jessica Walton

Bunnybear by Andrea J. Loney

King and King by Linda de Haan

Prince & Knight by Daniel Haack

Jerome By Heart by Thomas Scotto

Maiden & Princess by Daniel Haack

When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff

My Shadow Is Pink by Scott Stuart

Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope by Jodie Patterson

From Archie to Zack by Vincent Kirsch

Red: A Crayon’s Story By Michael Hall

Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall

Books Containing Gender Non-Conforming Characters

Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Jacob’s Room to Choose by Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Want to Play Trucks by Ann Stot

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress By Christine Baldacchino

Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love

Not Every Princess by Jeffrey and Lisa Bone

Téo’s Tutu by Maryann Jacob Macias

My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis

Except When They Don’t by Laura Gehl

Sparkle Boy by Lesléa Newman

Peanut Goes for the Gold by Jonathan van Ness

About LGBTQIA Parents

My Two Super Dads by Bronny Fallens

My Two Dads and Me by Michael Joosten

And Tango Makes Three by PETER PARNELL AND JUSTIN RICHARDSON

Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

My Two Moms and Me by Michael Joosten

My Two Dads by Claudia Harrington

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman

Daddy, Papa, and Me by Lesléa Newman

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman

It Takes Love (and some other stuff) to Make a Baby by LL Bird

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen

Who’s Your Real Mum? by Bernadette Green

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer

History of LGBTQIA

Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution!: The Story of the Trans Women of Color Who Made LGBTQ+ History by Joy Ellison

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman

Twas the Night Before Pride by Joanna McClintick

The Meaning Of Pride by Rosie Thor

Two Grooms on a Cake by Rob Sanders

Be Amazing by Desmond is Amazing and Dylan Glynn

Information

It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity by Theresa Thorn and Noah Grigni

What are your Words? by Katherine Locke

There are also great books that have a story entirely irrelevant to any LGBTQIA issue but just happen to have two same-sex parents or characters who are in the LGBTQIA community. I love these ones the best because the book is not about being diverse it just happens to be diverse. These are two examples I have come across but I am always looking out for more. As always, representation matters, but there is something delightful about normalising things so that they aren’t a stand out book because they are diverse.

General books but characters are same sex

Things in the Sea are Touching Me by Linda Jane Keegan

Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima

Book Bingo 2024

A few days ago as I went to write my book bingo wrap up I realised, despite announcing it to the world in January, I never actually ended up making it. Which is a shame because it is one of my favourite challenges, not only to do but to create. Who knows what happened to distract me. But now we are here, and I made one quickly a few days ago to keep my goals alive.

In an effort not to sway my results I pulled random ones from the past bingos I have made, as well as a few online ones. I picked things I knew I hadn’t selected before and some classics because there’s so much variety in a simple bingo prompt sometimes you always get something delightful.

Then the joy came from going through the 75 or so books I had read this year and seeing if any matched. I rarely keep up with bingo anymore through the year, I make it and see come December if I made a bingo. I like this approach because I do often hit my targets, but occasionally when I pick an out there prompt like poetry or something that isn’t usually in my reading wheelhouse I feel bad and try and get a last minute read it.

Looking back at my reading there are a lot I read back in January or March that feel like a lifetime ago, a good feeling since it felt the year flew by. I read a lot of young adult, and a few picture books, though not as many as usual. I balanced out my foreign reads with local, and attempted to diversify my shelf more in terms of genre, content, and character to mixed appreciation.

I finished series, started new series, and lots of Aussie reads though those #LoveOzYA ones are still hard ones to hit when you don’t have time to read a physical book. I did some power reads in the last few days, still sought out audios instead of the three books that are currently in front of me that are all on average 200 pages (why is that???). Maybe there will be a NYE miracle. The issue is reading takes time, even the shortest audiobook on 1.5x speed takes hours to read, but it won’t stop a mad attempt to finish books to tick off an arbitrary goal I set for myself.

So it’s been a weird bingo this year, technically made and completed in the span of a few days but an honest attempt was done. I am calling this a loose definition of a win. One because yes I did make a lot of full lines, but yes I did make this last minute and I feel making and completing a bingo in a week might not be in the spirit of the challenge. I have never been a fan of using one book for multiple prompts, and I read way more than 25 books a year so I have had choice on my side. Plus with some of my categories being broad or typical reads I am usually in with a good shot of a line or two being completed by years end.

Here’s to 2025 being a better organised bingo year. I may even make one up now while the guilt is still fresh. But for now here is the breakdown of my reading achievements. I will link those with reviews when they go up.