LGBTQAI+ Books for Children and Teens: Providing a Window for All — help for librarians and teachers who want to include Queer books for their students and young patrons

LGBTQAI+ Books for Children and Teens: Providing a Window for All by Christina Dorr and Liz Deskins

Created by two Allies to the LGBTQ community, and with a foreword by openly Gay Dr. Jamie Campbell Naidoo, this excellent resource from the American Library Association's ALA Editions imprint empowers librarians and teachers to frame the inclusion of books with LGBTQAI+ characters and themes for children, tweens, and teens as a human rights issue.

The book is structured in three sections (lists of recommended picture books, middle grade titles, and YA books with LGBTQAI+ characters and themes), and each title includes its "awards and honors," "conversation starter" questions, and resource links.

The book also includes suggestions on how to best deal with stakeholders who disagree with the idea of including books for LGBTQAI+, and the authors make the very accurate distinction of how children's books with LGBTQAI+ characters aren't necessarily about sex, any more than children's books about cisgendered and heterosexual characters are!

From an interview with the authors:

Q: What advice can you offer libraries that are dealing with community objections to LGBTQAI+ books or outreach? Or who may be self-censoring to avoid potential conflicts?

A: Our job is not to only promote those books we like or find interesting; our job is to present a whole and balanced curated collection of materials. In this case, the issue is respect and basic human rights for everyone. Sexuality and gender identity are types of diversity, among many, but neither of these are the impetus of for this book, or the books we suggest. Everyone has a right to see themselves in a book, or their family, or their friends. And everyone has the right to be treated with understanding, empathy, and respect. Our book shares quality titles, conversation starters, and other resources that could assist in the defense of the book, if you should need it.

The book also has a resource list of five blogs with more information about LGBTQAI+ books for children and teens that includes this blog—thanks, Christina and Liz!

"LGBTQAI+ Books for Children and Teens" is a title I highly recommend, especially if you're trying to figure out how to best include queer books for your young readers.

Learn more about the book in this full interview with the authors here.

Add your review of "LGBTQAI+ Books for Children and Teens" in comments!

"Where Are The Gay Parents In Children's Literature?" - A Resource (with Reviews) To Know About

Check out this blog series Kris Asselin and Jonathon Arnston have put together.  There are lists, and reviews, and some titles I hadn't heard about (but will be including here as well!)

Thanks, Kris and Jonathon!

Lee

Rainbow Family Collections: Selecting And Using Children's Books with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Content - A New Resource!

"Rainbow Family Collections: Selecting And Using Children's Books with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Content" by Jaime Campbell Naidoo

From the back cover:

Research shows that an estimated 2 million children are being raised in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families in the United States; that the number of same-sex couples adopting children is at an all-time high; and that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) couples raising children live in 96 percent of all counties in the United States.  Today's educators and youth librarians therefore need guidance in choosing, evaluating, and selecting high-quality children's books with LGBTQ content.

Highlighting titles for children from infancy to age 11, Rainbow Family Collections examines over 250 children's picture books, informational books, and chapter books with LGBTQ content from around the world.  Each entry in Rainbow Family Collections supplies a synopsis of the title's content, lists awards it has received, cites professional reviews, and provides suggestions for librarians considering acquisition.

The book also provides a brief historical overview of LGBTQ children's literature along with the major book awards for this genre, tips on planning welcoming spaces and offering effective library service to this population, and a list of criteria for selecting the best book with this content.  Interviews with authors and key individuals in LGBTQ children's book publishing are also featured.

I know I've found some titles new to me in this - look for a blog post on "Gender Now Coloring Book: A Learning Adventure for Children and Adults" by Maya Christina Gonzalez soon!

Have you used this book as a resource?  Add your take on it in comments.

Namaste,
Lee

PS - my thanks to Yapha and Robin, two awesome librarians, who both made sure I knew about this one!

Publishing LGBTQ Characters, Themes and Stories in Kid Lit - A Discussion at #NY12SCBWI

I'm excited to share with you that I'll once again have the honor of hosting and moderating the LGBTQ discussion at the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City!

At last year's conference in New York we had over 50 attendees, and it was a great conversation!

The giant "Find the LGBTQ in SCBWI" circle at #NY11SCBWI that still felt 'cozy'

From left to right: Myself (in the checked shirt), last year's special guests Executive Editor Ari Lewin, Agent Jim McCarthy, and Aaron Hartzler

Here are the details for this year's discussion:

Find the LGBTQ in SCBWI

7:45pm-8:45pm Saturday January 28, 2012

Room: Broadway

Started at SCBWI's 2008 Summer Conference in Los Angeles and held at every conference since, a group of editors, agents, art directors, authors and illustrators will meet informally to discuss LGBTQ publishing, the submission process, who is interested and what kinds of stories they are interested in.

Maybe you've written a book about or for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer or questioning youth; maybe you're interested in doing so, and you're not sure where to begin; maybe you are just curious to learn more about this vital corner of the market for young readers. Whatever your interest in the subject matter, all are welcome. Bring a friend and any questions you may have.

Hosted by SCBWI Team Blog's Lee Wind, our special guests for this event will be Editorial Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Alvina Ling and agent Jennifer Laughran

Alvina Ling is Editorial Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers where she has worked since 1999. She edits award-winning children's books for all ages, from picture books to young adult novels, with some nonfiction mixed in. Some of the books she has edited include Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, a young adult series by Libby Bray (The Diviners), as well as the middle grade novel The Land of Stories among many others. She contributes to the children's book blog Blue Rose Girls at http://www.bluerosegirls.blogspot.com

Jennifer Laughran joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2007. Her clients include Daniel Pinkwater, Calef Brown, Matt Faulkner, Jackie Dolamore, Ilsa J. Bick, Eric A. Kimmel, L.K. Madigan, Adam Selzer, Tara Kelly and Kate Messner, and many excellent debut authors. She is always on the lookout for YA and middle grade fiction with unusual, unforgettable characters and vivid settings. You can find her online at http://literaticat.blogspot.com

I hope to see you there!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Little Willow's Booklists at Bildungsroman - A Resource You HAVE To Know About!

Okay,
Teens.
Parents.
Librarians.

Little Willow has assembled an incredibly useful set of book recommendations over at her website, Bildungsroman.




With picks ranging from baby books to teen novels, and movie-style (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc...) ratings, this is a treasure trove.

Want to read some teen books about Prom? Books covering Orientation and/or Gender Roles, including many titles listed here at this blog? Books with positive and platonic student/teacher relationships? If-thens for middle schoolers? (here's an example: if you like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, then try Call of the Wild by Jack London.) Curious about the Cybil Award Winners?

Her site is an invaluable resource, and I was so happy when I discovered it. (And I keep going back to it...)

And now I'm delighted to share it with you!

Namaste,
Lee

Lambda Literary Foundation Launches Their New Website... And They Are Kind Enough To Put Me In With Some Pretty Great Company!

Lambda Literary Foundation's new website has launched, and I'm excited about it! I'm also delighted to be included in one of their premier feature articles, "What do LGBTQ Teens Want?"

You get to hear from authors Malinda Lo, Nick Burd, Sara Ryan, Alex Sanchez, librarian Arla Jones, editor and publisher Arthur A. Levine, and... ME! How cool is that?

It's very cool.

And LLF's new website is an awesome resource.

Go check it out!

Namaste,
Lee

Rainbow Books 2009: The ALA's 2009 list of Good Kid and Teen Books With GLBTQ Content!

The Rainbow Project is proud to announce the 2009 Rainbow List, a joint undertaking of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and Social Responsibilities Round Table. Featuring well-written and/or well-illustrated titles with authentic and significant gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered/queer/questioning (GLBTQ) content for youth from birth through age 18, this year’s bibliography presents 34 outstanding titles, published in the last eighteen months and representing a broad range of GLBTQ experience.

There's lots of great stuff to check out - many of the books on the 2009 Rainbow List have already been featured on this blog, and the remainder will be - early in 2010!

The Rainbow Project's blog and annual Book lists (2009, 2008) are a wonderful resource, and I'm so happy to share it with you.

Namaste,
Lee