Kathleen Breitenbach (they/them) is Teen Librarian at Hamilton Township Free Public Library in New Jersey.

- Description
- About the Authors
- Reviews
Librarians, teachers, and other professionals who work with children and teens will discover a range of LGBTQIA+ titles in this resource, alongside guidance on fostering spaces that are safe, warm, and welcoming for all young readers.
Books for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, asexual, and intersex readers and their allies continue to thrive and evolve in reflection of the variety of families and individual identities today. Deemed "an essential purchase" in a starred review by School Library Journal, this matchless guide returns in an updated edition. The authors highlight the best in LGBTQIA+ lit for young people while also addressing urgent topics such as the rise in book challenges. Offering library workers and teachers the information and tools they need to build a diverse, inclusive collection and confidently share it with the patrons they support, this resource
- provides hundreds of annotated book entries, complete with author and illustrator, publisher, date of publication, descriptions of each book’s LGBTQIA+ representation, and helpful prompts to foster discussion;
- surveys the current censorship push against books with LGBTQIA+ topics, themes, and characters, discussing its effect on young people and how to deal with objections and book challenges head on;
- includes interviews with noted authors that explain not only why they write for children, but what they feel librarians and teachers should understand when working with queer children and their classmates;
- spotlights picture books for young children that depict kids, parents, and families with a variety of gender and sexual dynamics;
- introduces books for middle-grade readers, focusing on titles with young people who are questioning and finding themselves while searching for where they belong;
- shares books for teens that range from stories touching on mental health and other issues that develop as youth start high school to others that explore housing insecurity and other concerns that impact older teens; and
- shares ideas for programming and marketing, advice on outreach to stakeholders, and best practices for supporting LGBTQIA+ students.
Praise for the first edition
"Beginning with a touching foreword from Jamie Campbell Naidoo about the importance of LGBTQAI+ literature, the book’s tone is warm and its advice universally applicable to school and public libraries large and small, rural and urban ... A solid starting point for someone new to LGBTQAI+ literature.”
— Booklist
"Citing powerful research and quotations from other advocates for diversity, the authors argue in their introduction that including LGBTQAI+ literature in libraries and curricula is part of taking a stand for basic human rights. A history of children’s and YA LGBTQAI+ literature is followed by ways to address book challenges ... This volume does a superb job on many fronts. An essential purchase for public and school libraries, especially given that few other selections on this topic exist.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)
"Comprehensive ... This book is an excellent reference guide for school and public youth librarians looking to improve representation of the LGBTQAI+ community in their library's collection.”
— VOYA