BOOK LIST: RECOMMENDED READING

Guides and overviews

Seeing Gender: An illustrated Guide to Identity and Expression

By Iris Gottlieb

Keywords: Gender, Expression, LGBTQ

Trans Allyship Workbook: Building Skills for Supporting Trans People in Our Lives

By Davey Shlasko & Kai Hofius

Keywords: LGBTQ, Queer theory

Queer: A Graphic History 

By Dr. Meg-John Barker & Julia Scheele

Keywords: Queer activism, LGBTQ, queer theory

Who are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity 

By Brook Pessin-Whedbee

Illustrated by Naomi Bardoff

Keywords: Gender, Acceptance, Ages 5-8

A Queer History of the United States

By Michael Bronski

Keywords: LGBTQ, History, 1492-1990

Transgender History

By Susan Stryker

Keywords: Trans* history, 1950-present, major movements

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community

By Laura Erickson-Schroth

Keywords: Trans care, health and wellness, gender

A Queer History of the United States for Young People

by Richie Chevat & Michael Bronski

Keywords: LGBTQ, history, 1492-1990

A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns

By Archie Bongiovanni &Tristan Jimerson

Keywords: Pronouns, Illustrated

Unconditional: A Guide to Loving and Supporting Your LGBTQ Child

By Telaina Erikson

Keywords: LGBTQ kids, Parenting, Family, Acceptance

The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals

by Stephanie A. Brill & Rachel Pepper

Keywords: Parenting Trans kids

The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and Supporting Children Who Live Outside Gender Boxes

By Diane Ehrensaft & Norman Spack

Keywords: Parenting, Gender-non-conforming kids, Transgender kids, Nonbinary, Gender expression

For Young Kids

Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away with Another Spoon: Coloring Book

By Jacinta Bunnell

Illustrated by Nathaniel Kusinitz

Keywords: LGBTQ Nursery Rhymes

Who are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity 

By Brook Pessin-Whedbee

Illustrated by Naomi Bardoff

Keywords: Gender, Acceptance, Ages 5-8

Meet Polkadot

by Talcott Broadhead

Keywords: gender identity, self-expression, acceptance

I Promise

by Catherine Hernandez

Illustrated by Syrus Marcus Ware

Keywords: Queer families. acceptance, unconditional love

Annie's Plaid Shirt

By Stacy B. Davids

Illustrated by Rachael Balsaitis

Keywords: Gender norms, identity, individualism, acceptance

Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU 

By Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth

Keywords: Family, orientation, gender identities, boundaries, safety

What Makes a Baby

By Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth

Keywords: How babies are made, non-gendered

The Boy and the Bindi

By Vivek Shraya & Rajni Perera

Keywords: gender, gender norms 

From the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea

By Kai Cheng Thom & Kai Yun Ching

Illustrated by Wai-Yant Li

Keywords: Gender Expression, Identity, and Self Expression

they, she, he: easy as abc

By Maya Christina Gonzalez & Matthew SG

Keywords: Gender, Pronouns, Expression

My Two Moms and Me

By Michael Joosten

Illustrated by Izak Zenou

Keywords: Queer parents, LGBTQ+ family

And Tango Makes Three

By Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell

Illustrated by Henry Cole

Keywords: LGBTQ+ family, Queer parenting

Introducing Teddy: A gentle story about gender and friendship

By Jessica Walton

Illustrated by Dougal MacPherson

Keywords: gender

I Am Jazz

By Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings

Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

Keywords: Trans youth, gender, kids

Bunnybear

By Andrea J. Loney

Illustrated by Carmen Saldana

Keywords: self, identity, Transgender

Red: A Crayon’s Story

By Michael Hall

Keywords: self-expression, Transgender, identity

Be Who You Are

By Todd Parr

Keywords: self-expression, identity, acceptance

It’s Okay to be Different

By Todd Parr

Keywords: self-expression, identity, acceptance

Worm Loves Worm

by J.J. Austrian

Illustrated by Mike Curato

Keywords: LGBTQ+ love

Julián Is a Mermaid

By Jessica Love

Keywords: self-expression, identity, gender, acceptance

Mommy, Mama and Me

By Lesléa Newman

Illustrated by Carol Thompson

Keywords: LGBTQ parenting and families

When Aidan Became a Brother

By Kyle Lukoff

Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

Keywords: Transgender boy, family acceptance, coming out

For Young Adults

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages

By Sandra Mitchell, et al.

Keywords: LGBTQ teens, Queer Teens, historical fiction

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

By Alison Bechdel

Keywords: comic book, memoir, lesbian, family

Sissy: A Coming of Gender Story

By Jacob Tobia

Keywords: memoir, gender exploration, Trans, gender expression

Ash

by Malinda Lo

Keywords: fantasy, lesbian teenager

Dreadnought: Nemesis - Book One

By April Daniels

Keywords: graphic novel, Transgender

Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World

By Sarah Prager

Illustrated by Zoe More O'Ferrall

Keywords: LGBTQ+ history, role models

It's Not Like It's a Secret

By Misa Sugiura

Keywords: teen, Lesbian, family Asian/Pacific American

None of the Above

By  I. W. Gregorio

Keywords: Intersex, teenager

The Mariposa Club

By Rigoberto González

Keywords: Gay teens, high school, homophobia

Under the Udala Trees

By Chinelo Okparanta. 

Keywords: Lesbian, coming of age, hiding sexuality

Adam

By Ariel Schrag

Keywords: LGBTQ, attraction, self-definition

A Boy Like Me

By Jennie Wood

Keywords: LGBTQ, bullying, middle school, love

Stay Solid! A Radical Handbook for Youth

By Matt Hern, et al.

Keywords: Mental health, sex, drugs, ethical objections, LGBTQ

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

By Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Keywords: Teens, self acceptance, friendship

They both die at the end

By Adam Silvera

Keywords: Bisexual, Teenagers

Trans Like Me: Conversations for All of Us

By CN Lester

Keywords: LGBTQ, pronouns, gender variance, author’s experience

Memoirs/Autobiographies

Becoming Nicole 

By Amy Ellis Nutt

Keywords: Trans teen, Trans woman, family acceptance

Redefining Realness: My Path To Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More

By Janet Mock 

Keywords: Trans woman, Woman of Color

Stuck in the Middle with You 

By Jennifer Finney Boylan

Keywords: Family, gender, parenting, transgender parent

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

By Audre Lorde 

Keywords: queer, lesbian, Black, woman

Real Man Adventures

By T Cooper

Keywords: Trans man, masculinity

The Bold World 

By Jodie Patterson

Keywords: family raising a Transgender son

Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality

By Sarah McBride

Keywords: Trans, identity, Transgender woman

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States

By Samantha Allen

Keywords: Transgender, lesbian, LGBTQ

Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home

by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Keywords: LGBTQ, disabled queer woman, abuse survival, immigration

Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South

By E. Patrick Johnson

Keywords: Black gay men, community building, Southern culture

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders

By Jennifer Finney Boylan

Keywords: LGBTQ, Transgender, family acceptance, friend acceptance

Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation

By Eli Clare

Keywords: Disabled, genderqueer, disability politics, queer liberation

Mean Little deaf Queer: A Memoir

By Terry Galloway

Keywords: LGBT*, queer identity, hearing loss at young age

When We Were Outlaws: A Memoir of Love & Revolution

By Jeanne Córdova

Keywords: Lesbian, 1970s, activism

Cheers!: Stories of a Fabulous Queer Femme in Action

By Denice Bourbon

Keywords: LGBTQ, queer avant-garde, feminist activist

A Cup of Water Under My Bed 

By Daisy Hernandez

Keywords: Cuban & Colombian cultures, dating, bisexuality

In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology 

By Joseph Beam

Keywords: Poetry, black men, gay men

Gender Queer: a Memoir 

By Maia Kobabe

Keywords: E/Em/Eir pronouns, adolescence, coming out

Before I Had the Words: On Being a Transgender Young Adult 

By Skylar Kergil

Keywords: Trans, coming out, FTM, teen experience

Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls Who Dig Girls 

By Lindsay King-Miller

Keywords: queer, guide, lesbian, gay, Sex-positive, How-to

Adult

Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives

By Nancy Adair & Casey Adair

Keywords: gay, lesbian

Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times

By Carolina De Robertis

Keywords: hope, change

Gender Outlaw 

By Kate Bornstein

Keywords: Transgender, gender, lesbian, LGBTQ+

Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry

By Essex Hemphill

Keywords: Black men, feminism among men, AIDS in the black community

How Queer! Personal Narratives from Bisexual, Pansexual, Polysexual, Sexually-Fluid, and Other Non- Monosexual Perspectives 

By Faith Beauchemin

Keywords: LGBTQ+, sexuality

Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good

By Adrienne Maree Brown

Keywords: Social justice, LGBTQ, sex work, drug use

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice

By Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Keywords: Disability, LGBTQ

The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care

By Zena Sharman

Keywords: LGBTQ, health care, HIV/AIDS

Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, Second Edition

By Eric A. Stanley & Nat Smith

Keywords: Prison reform, LGBTQ, race, gender, ability

Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability 

By Robert McRuer

Keywords: LGBTQ, disability, cultural and historical inquiry 

Feminist, Queer, Crip 

By Alison Kafer

Keywords: LGBTQ, disability, feminism, social justice

Moving Politics: Emotions and ACT UP’s Fight Against AIDS

By Deborah B. Gould

Keywords: Gay, lesbian, HIV/AIDS, politics, 1980

Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence

By Christina B. Hanhardt

Keywords: LGBTQ neighborhoods, street crime, activism

Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility Edited

By Reina Gossett, Eric A. Stanley & Johanna Burton

Keywords: LGBTQ, Trans visibility, violence against Trans people, Trans culture

Some of Us Did Not Die: New and Selected Essays

By June Jordan

Keywords: poetry, Democracy,  American culture, politics

Going Stealth: Transgender Politics and U.S. Surveillance Practices

By Toby Beauchamp

Keywords: LGBTQ, US politics, disability, science, technology

Decolonizing Trans/gender 101 

By B. Binaohan

Keywords: LGBTQ, QTPOC, indigenous people

Stonebutch Blues

By Leslie Feinberg

Keywords: novel, lesbian

Giovanni’s Room

By James Baldwin

Keywords: Black, gay

Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme

By Ivan Coyote & Zena Sharman

Keywords: LGBTQ, gender roles, queer

The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions

By Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta

Keywords: LGBTQ, capitalism, LGBT life, queer utopia, patriarchy

This Bridge Called My Back 

Edited by Gloria Anzaldúa & Cherrie Moraga

Keywords: Women of color,  feminism

Poetry

The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni

By Nikki Giovanni

Keywords: Black rights, black woman, mother 

Subject to Change: Trans Poetry & Conversation

By H. Melt , et al.

Trans, family, religion, disability

Take Me With You 

By Andrea Gibson

Keywords: poetry, LGBTQ+, gender

Lord of the Butterflies

By Andrea Gibson

Keywords: LGBTQ+, poetry, gender, life, loss

If They Come for Us: Poems 

By Fatimah Asghar

Keywords: Nationality, age, gender, identity, belonging

*We use the word 'Trans' in its most inclusive sense: encompassing all whose gender identity varies or is different from their sex-assigned-at-birth.