LGBTQ+ History Month Book List
Did you know October is LGBTQ+ History Month? In honor of this month, why not pick up a Queer history book for you or your child? We have books suggestions for patrons of all ages!Â
ChildrenÂ
It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity Â
by Theresa Thorn; illustrated by Noah GrigniÂ
A picture book that introduces the concept of gender identity to the youngest reader from writer Theresa Thorn and illustrator Noah Grigni. Some people are boys. Some people are girls. Some people are both, neither, or somewhere in between. This sweet, straightforward exploration of gender identity will give children a fuller understanding of themselves and others. With child-friendly language and vibrant art, It Feels Good to Be Yourself provides young readers and parents alike with the vocabulary to discuss this important topic with sensitivity.Â
Rainbow: A First Book of Pride Â
by Michael Genhart, PhD; illustrated by Anne PasschierÂ
Children from different kinds of families demonstrate the original meanings of the colors in the rainbow flag, and then come together at a Pride parade.Â
by Sophie BeerÂ
Whether you have one parent, two moms, two dads, a mom and a dad, or another wonderful caregiver, there’s one thing that makes a family a family … and that’s love.Â
by Joanna McClintick ; illustrated by Juana MedinaÂ
A glittering celebration of queer families puts Pride gently in perspective–honoring those in the LBGTQ+ community who fought against injustice and inequality. Pride Day is a day that means “Together, we are strong!”Â
Stonewall: A Building, an Uprising, a Revolution Â
by Rob SandersÂ
A powerful and timeless true story that will allow young readers to discover the rich and dynamic history of the Stonewall Inn and its role in the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement–a movement that continues to this very day. Movingly narrated by the Stonewall Inn itself, and featuring stirring and dynamic illustrations, Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution is an essential and empowering civil rights story that every child deserves to hear.Â
Young AdultÂ
The Stonewall Riots: Coming Out in the Streets Â
by Gayle E PitmanÂ
This book is about the Stonewall Riots, a series of spontaneous, often violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBTQ+) community in reaction to a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Profusely illustrated, the book includes contemporary photos, newspaper clippings among other period objects. A timely and necessary read, The Stonewall Riots helps readers to understand the history and legacy of the LGBTQ+ movementÂ
Pride: An Inspirational History of the LGBTQ+ MovementÂ
by Stella CaldwellÂ
In this beautifully designed dynamic book, young readers will learn about groundbreaking events, including historic pushes for equality and the legalization of same-sex marriages across the world. They will dive into the phenomenal history of queer icons from ancient times to the present and read about Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson, Audre Lorde, and more. Including several personal current essays from inspiring young LGBTQ+ people, this book encourages readers to take pride in their identity and the identities of those around them.Â
by Erin EkinsÂ
From coming out to friends and family, staying safe in relationships and practicing safe sex, through to self-care and coping with bullying, being out and about in the LGBTQIA+ community and undergoing gender transition, this book is filled with essential information, advice, support and resources to help you on your journey, and also works as a primer on all things LGBTQIA+ for non-autistic teens who are just figuring it all out.Â
Rainbow Revolutions:Â Power, Pride, and Protest in the Fight for Queer RightsÂ
by Jamie Lawson, illustrated by Eve Lloyd KnightÂ
From the impassioned speeches of bold activists Karl Ulrichs and Audre Lorde to the birth of Pride and queer pop culture, Rainbow Revolutions – a middle grade children’s book – charts the dramatic rise of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and celebrates the courageous individuals who stood up and demanded recognition.Â
by Owl and Fox Fisher; illustrations by Fox FisherÂ
Wondering how to come out to your family and friends, what it’s like to go through cross-hormonal therapy, or how to put on a packer? Trans youth activists Owl and Fox have stepped in to answer everything that trans teens and their families need to know. With a focus on self-care, expression, and being proud of your unique identity, the guide is packed full of invaluable advice from people who understand the realities and complexities of growing up trans.Â
Honorable Mention: Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story Â
By Sarah MyerÂ
Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Queer Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode.Â
AdultÂ
by Various Contributors Â
Showcasing the breadth of the LGBTQ+ experience, this diverse, global account explores the most important moments, movements, and phenomena, celebrating the victories and untold triumphs of LGBTQ+ people throughout history as well as commemorating moments of tragedy and persecution.Â
Ace Voices Â
by Eris YoungÂ
Drawing upon interviews with a wide range of people across the asexual spectrum, Eris Young is here to take you on an empowering, enriching journey through the rich multitudes of asexual life. With chapters spanning everything from dating, relationships, and sex to mental and emotional health, family, community and joy, the inspirational stories and personal experiences within these pages speak to aces living and loving in unique ways.  Â
Queer Silence: On Disability and Rhetorical Absence Â
by J. Logan SmilgesÂ
In queer culture, silence has been equated with voicelessness, complicity, and even death. Queer Silence insists, however, that silence can be a generative and empowering mode of survival. Triangulating insights from queer studies, disability studies, and rhetorical studies, J. Logan Smilges explores what silence can mean for people whose bodyminds signify more powerfully than their words. Reading a range of cultural artifacts whose relative silence has failed to attract queer attachment, from anonymous profiles to Grindr to ex-gays to belated gender transitions to disability performance art, Smilges argues for silence’s critical role in serving the needs of queers who are never named as such. Ultimately, they urge queer activists and queer studies scholars to reconcile with their own ableism by acknowledging the liberatory potential of silence, a mode of engagement that disattached queers use every day for resistance, sociality, and survival–back cover.Â
by Anthony Christian OcampoÂ
Brown and Gay in LA chronicles the stories of second-generation gay men living in Los Angeles to show how people living at the intersection of race, immigration, and sexuality are able to find agency within their families, schools, and communities.Â
Gay Berlin Â
by Robert BeachyÂ
A detailed historical look at the surprising ways in which the uninhibited urban sexuality, sexual experimentation and medical advances of pre-Weimar Berlin created and molded our modern understanding of sexual orientation and gay identityÂ
Honorable Mention: Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron Von Steuben Â
by Josh Trujillo & Levi HastingsÂ
A graphic novel biography of Baron von Steuben, the soldier, immigrant, and flamboyant homosexual who influenced the course of US history during the Revolutionary War despite being omitted from our textbooksÂ
Let us know if you pick up any of these books by leaving a review in the “Awesome Box” at the ground floor checkout desk or fill out a review form. Need help reserving one of these title? You can place a request in the online catalog, fill out a request form, or call the reference desk at 978-674-4121.