June 1 marks the beginning of Pride. I’ve created two bookshelves packed with titles of LGBTQIA+ kid lit; one shelf with middle grades chapter books (fiction and nonfiction) and another shelf with picture books for all ages (fiction and nonfiction). In this file you’ll find two versions of each shelf (one is full-page size; the other is not). There is also a bookmark with an abbreviated set of titles. These are great for printing out and taking to your local bookstore or library, or shopping for books online. Get a stack for you and your family to read together this month and shade in the spines with all the colors of the rainbow as you read each title. What better way to celebrate people and get to know people than through stories? Remember, just like the rainbow, the LGBTQIA+ community includes a spectrum of identities, all of which should be acknowledged and celebrated this June and all year long. I’ve tried to include the titles of a variety of people along that spectrum, but kid lit has a long way to go to be entirely inclusive. Also, I tried to find as many own-voices stories to include on these bookshelves, but like I said, kid lit publishing has a long way to go, so be cautious of the stories that are being told by those who are not part of the LGBTQIA+ community. All month long I will be sharing some of my favorite titles – both new and old – over on my Instagram (@thebookwrangler) to help you build your collections in classrooms and libraries, so when we say, “All Are Welcome Here,” we can really mean it and kids can really see it.
Some titles are familiar favourites, others are new releases, and a few more are soon-to-be released.
The first calendar shows middle grades chapter books, and the second calendar displays some picture book titles.
The picture book calendar is one you could easily follow and read one-a-day, but it’s unlikely you’ll read one chapter book each day for the month of June, so that calendar is really just inspiration for you to build your home, school or classroom library collections.
Representation matters in elementary, middle and high school libraries. Grab the PDF here.
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