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5 Great Books for LGBT History Month

5 Great Books for LGBT History Month & Kid Lit Blog Hop

Posted on October 7, 2015June 9, 2026 by Pragmatic Mom

LGBT History Month is a month-long annual observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.

My post today is a celebration of LGBT History Month! I have noticed that my kids are very accepting of LGBT and I love that. If anyone makes an off-color comment about LGBT they are quick to pounce and say, “There’s nothing wrong with that!” And then they glare accusingly at the person. There’s even an LGBT club at their middle school.

But I remember when my oldest, Grasshopper and Sensei, was so confused in kindergarten when she found out that her classmate had two moms. She was befuddled in middle school too, when she found out that her new friend had four moms.

I think that exposure to LGBT goes a long way towards acceptance and I humbly offer these great books as a way to expose kids to all different kinds of families. How about you? What are your favorite LGBT books for kids? Are your kids surprised or accepting when it comes to LGBT? Thanks for sharing!

Todd Paris of Lucky Punch Boxing in Boston

Todd Paris of Lucky Punch Boxing wears rainbow wraps in celebration of LGBT History Month! 

 

5 Great Books for Kids in Celebration of Pride Month

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

Stella has a Papa and a Daddy and a lot of other supportive family members but she just doesn’t have a mama to bring to school for her Mother’s Day class celebration. Stella has two dads. Howie has two moms. Everyone else seems to have a mother. What will Stella do? She has a great idea! [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Laura Cornell

Heather has a lot of things that come in pairs: arms, legs, pets … and moms! She has Mama Jane and Mama Kate. When she starts kindergarten, she realizes that she might be the only one without a daddy. But when her class draws a picture of their family, Heather realizes that every family is special and that it doesn’t matter how many mommies or daddies your family has. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Laura Cornell

Made By Raffi by Craig Pomranz, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain

Raffi knits a gift for his father even though the other children think that knitting is for girls. When the school pageant needs a costume for the prince, Raffi has the solution. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

Made By Raffi by Craig Pomranz, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

Families come in all different sizes and shapes in nature too! This is a true story about two male chinstrap penguins out of forty-two chinstrap penguins in the Central Park Zoo who become a family. There are over ten million chinstrap penguins in the world. [picture book, ages 4 and up]

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 (Beware the Kitten Holly) by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke Allen

It’s very subtle and I personally wouldn’t have realized that two of the female characters fall in love but I found out in Lee Wind’s great newsletter (which has more great book suggestions for LGBTQ). [graphic novel, ages 8 and up]

Author  Noelle Stevenson talks ‘Lumberjanes,’ ‘Nimona’ and her online roots:

With Mal and Molly, we really wanted to show a relationship between these two people as it was developing organically between two very young characters who may not know exactly who they are yet or what this is.

Even just young love in general; you don’t know what you’re doing at that age. This is maybe the first time you’ve ever had this with anybody, and we just wanted to show that in a very sweet and thoughtful way.

We wanted to kind of set up this safe place that was sort of set apart from the rest of the world. No one here is going to react to Mal and Molly with homophobia. No one’s going to judge their relationship. From LA Times

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 (Beware the Kitten Holly) by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis, illustrated by Brooke Allen

To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.

5 Great Books for LGBT Month & Kid Lit Blog Hop

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Welcome to the 67th Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children’s books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

BeachBoundBooks

Music Teaching and Parenting

Pragmatic Mom

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

Spark and Pook

Music Teaching and Parenting

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

 

Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*

1. Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don’t link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

2. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

3. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you’re linking up. If you’d prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

4. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

 

KID LIT BLOG HOP

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p.s. Related posts:

LGBTQ Book Lists for Kids

Understanding Transgender with LGBTQ+ Books for Kids

10 Groundbreaking LGBTQ Children’s Books

Favorite Children’s Books Featuring a LGBTQ Character

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry ColeStella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

Meet Asian Pacific American Hero Margaret Cho

Asian Pacific American Heroes Mia Wenjen

Meet Asian Pacific American Hero Prabal Gurung

Asian Pacific American Heroes Mia Wenjen

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My books:

 

Cover Reveal: Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

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FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, Published by Red Comet Press

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Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

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The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

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Cover Reveal for THE TRAVELING TACO by Mia Wenjen Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

 

 

We Sing From the Heart picture book cover reveal of The Slants Simon Tam

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We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants®  Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

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Cover Reveal: Boxer Baby Battles Bedtime!Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

 

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Robert Sae-HengAmazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World

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cover for Sumo Joe

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year

Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia WenjenAmazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

 

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

 

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s GuideSigned or Inscribed by Me

 

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

Signed or Inscribed by Me

Asian Pacific American HeroesSigned or Inscribed by Me

6 thoughts on “5 Great Books for LGBT History Month & Kid Lit Blog Hop”

  1. Renee MDBR says:
    October 7, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    Thanks for sharing your recommended reads on this important topic! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      October 17, 2015 at 7:29 pm

      Thanks Renee!!

      Reply
  2. maria gianferrari says:
    October 7, 2015 at 12:58 pm

    For MG, I really loved Alex Gino’s George–very moving.

    For YA, I liked None of the Above by IW Gregorio–it’s thought-provoking and worth reading, but I didn’t love the voice

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      October 17, 2015 at 7:30 pm

      Hi Maria,
      Thanks so much for your great book recommendation!! I haven’t read it but I’m glad there is a great MG book on this topic!! You don’t see too many MG books covering LGBT.

      Reply
  3. Erik - TKRB says:
    October 12, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    This is an important topic. So many people are conflicted about this or maybe just need to learn more. I think the more we gain an understanding the more we learn to accept one and other.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      October 17, 2015 at 7:49 pm

      Hi Erik,
      It’s funny but my kids think LGBT is no big deal. They are very accepting of that lifestyle and are quick to support it if anyone makes an off color remark. They will say, “There’s nothing wrong with being gay!!” I love that. They each have friends with two moms. It’s older generations that have less exposure and therefore less acceptance I feel like. It was a shock for me and my husband when we moved to a gay part of town when we first moved to Boston but gradually, we got used to it and became friends with our neighbors who were mostly gay men. I’m glad I had that experience to draw from.

      Reply

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