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Some social constructs, like time and personal hygiene, are important to teach children.
"Only girls wear dresses," which my daughter mentioned her friends were saying at school recently? Not as necessary. In fact, when I asked her, "What about people who aren't girls?" she replied firmly: "Anyone can wear dresses if that's what's in their heart."
Her capacity to navigate these really big concepts with confidence and an open heart is exactly why I include LGBTQ books in our personal library.
Reading books that feature LGBTQ characters typically means highlighting themes of inclusivity, self-identity, and acceptance, and veering away from heteronormativity and often rigid, binary ways of thinking about gender identity and sexuality. These stories can serve as conversation starters for you or your child, an opportunity to share a vernacular they may be unfamiliar with, or help provide answers to questions they otherwise may not be ready to ask.
Importantly, since a lot of reading with young children is done at bedtime, they can also associate these stories and themes with feelings of safety, comfort, and love. When I read these books with my own 5-year-old, I love listening to her build on what she already knows about her own identity, our family structure, and being respectful of what our friends might be feeling in their hearts.
Inspired by friends and colleagues and personally researched, these books delve into themes of identity, acceptance, and self-expression. Some descriptions use "they/them" pronouns where a character's gender pronouns have not been explicitly used in the book.
Here are 13 children's books that feature LGBTQ characters: