5 Children’s Books That Celebrate LGBTQ Same Sex Families

The stories we are told as children play a role in who we become when we grow up. After all we eventually narrate our own lives. The character who inhabits books and screens have an impact on how children see themselves and others. Representation is so important.

I remember our son asking us innocently in front of his nursery school teacher why there weren’t families like ours in the books in his classroom. He was so used to representation in our home that it felt off when it wasn’t permeating his community. We donated our favourites; they just couldn’t see what was missing because it just wasn’t for them.

I feel strongly that the special families we serve have unique stories to tell about their families. Of course, there will be similarities but all our families had to think through how their children were going to come to them and why they chose who and what they did.

Down below is a list of some of our favourites when our family was younger. Representation matters.

THE FAMILY BOOK, TODD PARR

This book focuses on the definition of family &what constitutes a family. This book explores a myriad of families & validating each & every one is accepted.

We loved introducing the idea of the many different ways families were made. As social workers we had worked with adoptive and kinship families along with many other compilations. It felt like we were dispelling the notion of “normal” from the get-go.

AND TANGO MAKES THREE, JUSTIN RICHARDSON

This is the story of two male penguins, Roy & Silo, who create a family together. With the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, Roy & Silo are given an egg which they help hatch. The female chick, that completes their family, is named “Tango” by the zookeepers. The book was based on the true story of Roy & Silo, two Chinstrap penguins who fell in love in NY Central Park Zoo. It might have been his love of Mr Poppers Penguins but this was a hit.

   Mommy, Mama, and Me

This book, written by Lesléa Newman, is written for very young children and showcases a loving relationship within a family with lesbian parents. From playing games to bath time, “Mommy, Mama, and Me” takes readers through a typical day, showing just how similar all families truly are.There is also a “Daddy, Papa, and Me” version written by the same author, with the same concept for two male parents. One Amazon reviewer who is not in a same-sex relationship noted that this book was a good resource to teach her own children about acceptance. Simple and comforting.

 A Tale of Two Daddies & A Tales of Two Mommies

This book is really a collection of questions from two friends asking a third about how his family with two mommies work. Sometimes adults go straight for the deep big issues when really kids just want to know which mom is the one to coach little league and which one bakes cakes. The overall feeling readers are left with is that this little boy’s life isn’t all that different at all. A tale of two Daddies is of the same premise.

We liked how similar this felt to some of the questions our son was getting and the inevitable confusion when he had two Mom’s and the equation seemed wrong to the kiddos.

 Red

All crayons come with a label but is that label always, right? Red came from the factory with a red outside but even when he tried, and trust me he tried, all he could do was color blue. It’s not until he is asked by purple to draw him a blue ocean that he finally finds a place where he belongs.

This isn’t technically about families but it was a lovely way to introduce the idea that even if its right for many your story is your own and you must draw, write and colour the way your heart tells you to.