Happy Pride, Nashville! This is my favorite time of year because it means I get to do a yearly review of all the best picture books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters and families. It really is so much fun! I've narrowed down my favorites to just three, so without further ado, here they are!
This fabulous story is author Retener's debut picture book! Marley, a Black nonbinary child, is nervous to join their grandparent, Zaza, at the Pride festival. They often feel overstimulated when immersed in a crowd. However, Marley spends their morning getting grounded and preparing so that they might withstand the sights and sounds. When the time comes, they hop in the car to join in on the fun! At first, Marley feels like hiding under the car and isn't quite ready to delve into the festivities. But Zaza embraces them and lets them express all of their anxieties until they feel settled again. Once there, Marley is pleasantly surprised and ends up enjoying the parade and makes some friends along the way!
The kindness of other children at the festival is astounding! A child named Zane offers them a pronoun button, and they immediately feel more at ease. Once the parade settles down and some speakers are up on stage, Marley realizes that their Zaza is one of the stars of the show! It was so wonderful to read a book that addressed the sensory aspects of being in big group outings and provided readers with some tangible ways to navigate these types of challenges! It was also fantastic to see Zaza, a nonbinary elder, sharing their experience with the younger generation. Pride really is all about connection and acceptance. DeAnn Wiley's illustrations are bright, joyful, and inviting. There is even a helpful backmatter that provides explanations about the meaning and history of pride, what each letter in LGBTQIA+ means, and what pronouns are.
This fun children's book is all about celebrating diversity and self-expression! A group of ten fictional drag queens (with brilliantly punny names like "Rhetta Booke") show off their true colors in this celebration of all things glam. Representing all different racial backgrounds, body types, and abilities, all of the queens bring their own unique hue and flair to the table! Not only does each queen share a different color of the rainbow, they each show off all the varied shades of that color, which offers children a whole range of new vocabulary words that think outside the crayon box. We get to see fun outfits and adornments amidst a plethora of makeup, beauty products, animals, objects, and foods that all share the same color!
I'd highly recommend this fabulous picture book for ALL young readers, and especially those looking to explore their creativity! I learned all sorts of new colors and gleaned some fun fashion inspiration at the same time. The story ends with a joyful explosion of all of the rainbow colors, as the queens enjoy carnival rides together! Lil Miss Hot Mess writes, "So let's all mix and match our favorite pigments and patterns to express ourselves and our fierce imaginations". I couldn't have said it better myself!
I loved reading a book about a lesser written about part of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, bisexuality. A.J. Irving takes a playful, curious approach to what it means to be "bi", by exploring the root prefix of the word. Lots of vocabulary words appear in this exploration: bicycle, binoculars, bipeds, bilingual, biracial, etc. However, we learn at the end, that bisexual is "One word that starts with 'bi' [and] can mean more than two...Because bi hearts love in a rainbow of ways". The different words appear as a small family of four enjoys a summery outing. They ride their bikes to the beach and enjoy a nice swim and kite-flying adventure.
The gorgeous illustrations in the book were created with colored pencils and crayons, making for an inviting, child-friendly vibe. I learned so many new words in this book and genuinely enjoyed getting to come along on the family's beach adventure. This is a comforting, sweet read that could be a great conversation starter for children and adults who may be curious what it means to be bisexual, or would like to share this with their family.
I hope you've enjoyed my selection of LGBTQIA+ picture books by some up-and-coming queer authors and illustrators! If you'd like to see my full curated book list, check it out here! It's so important to celebrate the triumphs and struggles of this historically marginalized community, especially right now. Picture books can be profound works of art that seek to create a better world for future generations. Happy Pride 2025!
