This week I spent a lot of time trying to find some good chapter books for the “tween” set (i.e. ages 8 – 12) featuring LGBT characters. It’s not easy. There are plenty of great picture books with two-mommy families, gay dads, genderqueer dragons, etc., and there are oodles of fun but slightly too risqué YA novels that center on LGBT-related issues, but unfortunately, there’s still not much out there for younger kids. So far, the best we’ve been able to do in terms of LGBT fiction for kids who have moved beyond picture books is:
Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan
So Hard to Say, by Alex Sanchez
Geography Club, by Brent Hartinger
The Order of the Poison Oak, by Brent Hartinger
Totally Joe, by James Howe
Not one of these books, however, is truly a tween read. They’re basically young adult novels without too much explicit sex. So while a 10-year old could read them without his parents throwing a fit, he probably wouldn’t get too much out of them, since they’re not really written for his age group.
I would love to purchase some books for younger students that include LGBT characters (and by include, I mean include prominently — not just incidentally or allusively), but I’m having a really tough time finding anything — anything at all. Help? Anyone?
Hi, I’ve done a series on encouraging science literacy through literature (http://tiny.cc/books997), but finding LGBT books for younger years is tough! It’s only started to gain ground recently.
I’ve got the following, that might help:
Stephen Chbosky – The Perks of Being a Wallflower,
Garret Freymann-Weyr – My Heartbeat,
Jack Gantos – Desire Lines,
A.M Homes – Jack,
James Howe – The Misfits,
Maureen Johnson – The Bermudez Triangle,
Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbett – M or F?,
Julie Ann Peters – Keeping You A Secret / Far from Xanadu / Luna,
Sara Ryan – Empress of the World,
Alex Sanchez has a series, beyond the one previously mentioned,
Shyam Selvadurai – Swimming in the Monsoon Sea,
Andrea Steinhofel – The Center of the World,
Jacqueline Woodson – The House You Pass on the Way.
Thank you! This is very helpful!
Interestingly, I even nedumala about it …