LGBTQ+ Curriculum Instructional Materials & Children's Literature

A summary of the 250 best books for LGBTQ teens. Information on how to find library programs, services, and additional resources for LGBTQ teens is also provided, making this a one-stop sourcebook for LGBTQ teens, their families, friends, and classmates, as well as teachers and librarians.

Teen advocate and trailblazer Jazz Jennings--named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens" of the year by Time--shares her very public transgender journey.

This is an indispensable resource for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning teens (often referred to as LGBT or GLBTQ). This fully revised and updated edition retains all of the straightforward information and practical advice of the original edition while providing a contemporary look at society and its growing acceptance of homosexuality and transgender people.

Suggests how gay, lesbian, and bisexual teenagers may discover their sexual orientation, find self-acceptance, come out, cope with prejudice, and deal with religious and political issues.

A groundbreaking work of LGBT literature takes an honest look at the life, love, and struggles of transgender teens.

"Today, LGBTQ+ athletes are everywhere. But it hasn't always been this way. Social attitudes, institutional policies, and laws have been slow to change, but now LGBTQ+ athletes are finding opportunity and success."

Teens are more aware of sexuality and identity than ever, and they're looking for answers and insights, as well as a community of others. In order to help create that community, YA authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell have collected original poems, essays, and stories by young adults in their teens and early 20s.

An informative and project-filled book for middle graders to explore the meaning and history behind LGBTQ rights movements, including biographies of key figures in gender and gay/lesbian history, the context behind today's transgender "bathroom wars" and dozens of activities and research ideas for perspectives and further learning.

Are you seeking a deeper understanding of gender identity and sexual identity? The ABCs of LGBT+ is a #1 Bestselling LGBT book and is essential reading for questioning teens, teachers or parents looking for advice, or anyone who wants to learn how to talk about gender identity and sexual identity.

LGBT rights have advanced greatly since the homophobic days of the 1960s. Still, challenges remain, including passage of a federal law mandating job equality nationwide. This book examines how and why social change occurs and the lasting influence of the LGBT movement on mainstream society.

A summary of the 250 best books for LGBTQ teens, written by experts on the subject and addressed to teen book buyers. Identifying titles that address the sensitive and important topics of coming out, being out, and the search for community, this catalog spotlights the best gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and questioning books written for teens.

In Beyond the Gender Binary, poet, artist, and LGBTQIA+ rights advocate Alok Vaid-Menon deconstructs, demystifies, and reimagines the gender binary. Pocket Change Collective is a series of small books with big ideas from today's leading activists and artists. In this installment, Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon challenges the world to see gender not in black and white, but in full color. Taking from their own experiences as a gender-nonconforming artist, they show us that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression.

She/he/they/them. Why do we use gender pronouns? And why do some people wish to be referred to as "they"? What is gender identity all about? Students will learn to understand these terms and the reasons behind them. They will also learn how to deal with questions they may have about gender identity.

Learn how this Emmy-winning host, producer, and television personality became the world's most famous drag queen.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This bittersweet Pride & Prejudice remix follows a trans boy yearning for the freedom to live openly, centering queerness in a well-known story of longing and subverting society's patriarchal and cisheteronormative expectations. London, 1812. Oliver Bennet feels trapped. Not just by the endless corsets, petticoats and skirts he's forced to wear on a daily basis, but also by society's expectations. The world--and the vast majority of his family and friends--think Oliver is a girl named Elizabeth. He is therefore expected to mingle at balls wearing a pretty dress, entertain suitors regardless of his interest in them, and ultimately become someone's wife. But Oliver can't bear the thought of such a fate. He finds solace in the few times he can sneak out of his family's home and explore the city rightfully dressed as a young gentleman. It's during one such excursion when Oliver becomes acquainted with Darcy, a sulky young man who had been rude to "Elizabeth" at a recent social function. But in the comfort of being out of the public eye, Oliver comes to find that Darcy is actually a sweet, intelligent boy with a warm heart. And not to mention incredibly attractive. As Oliver is able to spend more time as his true self, often with Darcy, part of him dares begin to hope that his dream of love and life as a man could be possible. But suitors are growing bolder--and even threatening--and his mother is growing more desperate to see him settled into an engagement. Oliver will have to choose: Settle for safety, security, and a life of pretending to be something he's not, or risk it all for a slim chance at freedom, love, and a life that can be truly, honestly his own. The Remixed Classics Series A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix by Kalynn Bayron Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix by Caleb Roehrig Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie Dimaline Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys. Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color,All Boys Aren't Bluecovers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy.

Liza puts aside her feelings for Annie after the disaster at school, but eventually, she allows love to triumph over the ignorance of people.

Through friendship, Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Dirk MacDonald, a sixteen-year-old boy living in Los Angeles, comes to terms with being gay after he receives surreal storytelling visitations from his dead father and great-grandmother.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world. From the Hardcover edition.

Lambda Literary Award Winner! "Pen is an inspiration to anyone who's struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists." --New York Times Book Review All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she's always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it?

The deaths of Cameron's parents means they will never learn the truth she eventually comes to—that she's gay. Orphaned, Cameron comes to live with her old-fashioned grandmother and ultraconservative aunt Ruth. There she falls in love with her best friend, a beautiful cowgirl. When she’s eventually outed, her aunt sends her to God’s Promise, a religious conversion camp that is supposed to “cure” her homosexuality.

Ray Liu knows immigrants like himself but who seem to have adjusted to North American life more easily. Then comes his father accesses Ray’s internet account, and discovers Ray has been cruising gay websites. Before Ray knows what has hit him, his belongings have been thrown on the front lawn, and he has been kicked out. Can he survive on the streets of Toronto?

Three teenage boys, coming of age and out of the closet. In a revealing debut novel that percolates with passion and wit, Alex Sanchez follows these very different high-school seniors as their struggles with sexuality and intolerance draw them into a triangle of love, betrayal, and ultimately, friendship.

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight.

S.J. Goslee's debut YA novel Whatever.is a fresh, modern take on the coming-out story.

Eighteen-year-old Evan and his best friend, Davis, get beaten up for being loners. For being gay. For just being themselves. But as rough as things often seem, at least Evan can take comfort in his sweet, sexy boyfriend Erik —whom he’s kept secret from everyone for almost a year.   Then Evan and Davis are recruited to join the Chasers, a fringe crowd that promises them protection and status. Davis is swept up in the excitement, but Evan is caught between his loyalty to Davis and his love for Erik. Evan has lied to keep his two worlds separate. Now his lies are about to implode…and destroy the very relationships he’s been trying to protect.

Either Way is a graphic novel that teaches teens about the history of gay rights in America, while emphasizing the recurring theme that 'It's okay to be gay.

A quick, easy and important educational comic guide to using gender-neutral pronouns. "A great, simple look at the importance of using correct pronouns; extremely accessible to those for whom gender-neutral language is a new concept."

Be Gay, Do Comics is filled with dozens of comics about LGBTQIA experiences, ranging from personal stories to queer history to cutting satire about pronoun panic and brands desperate to co-opt pride. Brimming with resilience, inspiration, and humor, an incredible lineup of top indie cartoonists takes you from the American Revolution through Stonewall to today's fights for equality and representation. Featuring more than 30 cartoonists including Hazel Newlevant, Joey Alison Sayers, Maia Kobabe, Matt Lubchansky, Breena Nuñez, Sasha Velour, Shing Yin Khor, Levi Hastings, Mady G, Bianca Xunise, Kazimir Lee, and many, many more!

Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love. It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes--but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance. Godwin Books

2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall -- Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere. "It's also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand." -- SLJ (starred review)

A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave.

A Stonewall Honor Book From Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a revelatory YA novel about a transgender teen grappling with identity and self-discovery while falling in love for the first time.

Angeline Boulley's debut novel,Firekeeper's Daughter, is a groundbreaking YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, perfect for readers of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.

Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy's pregnancy, Sebastian's coming out, the cute boys, her father's meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.

There is one thing Steven knows for sure: He's absolutely, positively NOT gay. Steven's a 16-year-old boy with two obsessions: sex and getting his driving license. Could he be -- don't say it -- gay? Are Steven's tactics going to straighten him out, or leave him all twisted up? Absolutely hilarious. Positively sidesplitting. But absolutely, positively NOT GAY!

Take a journey through time and genres to discover stories where queer teens live, love and shape the world around them.

Jan begins her senior year of high school not expecting that she will lose the starring part in the school play, take over as director when her beloved drama teacher becomes ill, and realize that she is a lesbian.

Thirteen-year-old Staggerlee used to be called Evangeline, but she took on a fiercer name. She's always been different--set apart by the tragic deaths of her grandparents in an anti-civil rights bombing, by her parents' interracial marriage, and by her family's retreat from the world. This summer she has a new reason to feel set apart--her confused longing for her friend Hazel.

Recommended Fiction Book List for the 2019 In the Margins Book Award Jaya's 17, a transgender Gujarati outsider who detests wealth, secrets, and privilege, though he has them all. Only thing 16-year-old Rasa has is siblings, plus a mother who controls men like a black-widow spider. Neither one of them has ever known real love or family. Not until their chance meeting one sunny day on a mountain in Hau'ula.

In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself.

A timely and honest portrait of what it's like to grow up feeling unwelcome in your own culture. Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents' expectations, but lately she's finding that impossible to do.

In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for sixteen-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again. Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. 

A funny, honest novel about being out, being proud . . . and being ready for something else.

Pressured by his peers and society to conform to the stereotyped macho image, fifteen-year-old Peter feels both confused and repelled. His confusion and his horror increase when he finds himself attracted to his brother’s best friend, David, who is gay. Here is a daring, exceptionally honest novel about sexuality and the need to be true to oneself.

Wyatt is fifteen, and nobody in his homophobic small town of Lincolnville, Oregon, knows that he's gay. Not even his best friend (and accidental girlfriend) Mackenzie. Then he discovers a secret from actual history: Abraham Lincoln was in love with another guy! Since everyone loves Lincoln, Wyatt's sure that if the world knew about it, they would treat gay people differently and it would solve everything about his life.

It's like the apocalypse came, only instead of nuclear bombs and zombies, Mike gets school participation, gay thoughts, and cheerleaders. Junior year is about to start. With a standout voice, a hilariously honest view on sex and sexuality, and enough f-bombs to make your mom blush, S.J. Goslee's debut YA novelWhatever.is a fresh, modern take on the coming-out story.

ARTHUR is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it's that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it. BEN thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn't be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend's things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them . . . ?