8 of the Best Recent LGBTQ+ Picture Books

Marley has always wanted to go to Pride, but their anxiety made it feel really hard. When they learn their beloved Zaza is going to be given an award, they decide to give it a try despite being afraid. This is such a tender and celebratory book about a queer kid figuring out how to be themself at Pride — with the help of their family and some new friends.

This is definitely not a book about how gender is something that we made up — except that it is. Chester arrives at the community garden to harvest some vegetables for a salad. He’s greeted by a chorus of vegetable voices explaining (not at all calmly) that vegetables don’t exist, so he’s out of luck. This is a wonderfully subversive story about language and categorization, and it’s also a really good time. It’s one of the funniest books I’ve read in ages, and the vegetable faces are a solid 10/10, no notes.

This celebration of queer Indigenous love and kinship is overflowing with warmth, joy, and color. Over the course of a day at the Intertribal Community Center, Molly excitedly introduces readers to her big family, blood and chosen. There are her cousins and friends, her grandmother and her grandmother’s wife, and more. Molly shares a different kind of love with each person, and the way Monique Gray Smith writes all these kinds of love onto the page is truly heartwarming.

This is a lovely, quiet book about a merman who longs for love and sends his song out through the waves, and the lonely fisherman who hears his singing and feels something open in his heart. The story is soft, simple, and heartwarming, and the illustrations — especially of the ocean — are captivating.

Are birthday parties at roller rinks still a thing? Either way, this book is a delight. Nolan is READY for a skate party at the roller rink — they have the perfect outfit and the perfect skates. Everything is going great until the DJ announces there will be a boy’s skate and then a girl’s skate. Nolan is left feeling like they don’t belong anywhere. So they muster all their bravery and request the DJ play a song for everyone. This is a joyful and uplifting book about a nonbinary kid asking for what they need — and making things a bit better for everyone in the process.

This moving book about the power of community is based on true events. After their Pride flag is stolen and their house egged, a lesbian couple suddenly feels afraid and alone in a place they thought they belonged. It’s the kids of the neighborhood who rally around them, and come up with a plan to combat the hate and help Cari and Lauri feel safe and loved again.

Look, there is basically nothing I love more than children’s poetry. Poems + gorgeous illustrations = the best thing ever. And when those poems celebrate the lives of LGBTQ+ activists, writers, artists, scientists, politicians, and more — even better! The book features 17 queer heroes, from Marsha P. Johnson to Richard Blanco. There’s a poem about each person’s life, accompanied by a short biography. Back matter includes notes on the different styles of poetry and why they were chosen. This is a bright and vivid book that’s full of information, but always centers beauty and emotion.

When I discovered picture book biographies, it was like stepping into a new world. I’m never going to have time to read biographies of every interesting person in the world. But picture book biographies? Sign me up! This book tells the story of professional baseball player Glenn Burke, the first MLB player to come out as gay, and the inventor of the high-five. His spontaneous gesture during a game in 1977 has now become a universally recognizable symbol of celebration and achievement. This book tells the story of that day, the challenges Burke faced as a gay Black player, and his many achievements.