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Celebrating LGBTQ through Reading

Synergize Learning • June 11, 2021

June is LGBTQ pride month! 

Now is an excellent time to celebrate diversity and educate children on the LGBTQ community. By keeping our little ones informed, we can help reduce prejudice and encourage inclusion. Moreover, it's extremely important for children to see characters who look like them and are “mirrors” of their similar experiences, as well as those who serve as “windows” into different experiences and perspectives. Here are five suggested books to get you started!

 Jack (Not Jackie) by Erica Silverman

When Susan becomes a big sister, she imagines all the fun things she will do with her younger sister when they get bigger, like pretending to be forest fairies in pretty dresses with bows in their hair. However, she soon realizes that her sibling, Jackie, doesn't like fairies or wearing bows in their hair. Instead, Jackie prefers bugs and baseball caps, and feels better being called Jack. 

It’s not easy for Susan to let go of her ideas of how Jack should be, but Susan learns to accept Jack for who he is and realizes they can still have fun with one another as brother and sister!

Papa, Daddy, & Riley by Seamus Kirst

When Riley meets her classmates on the first day of school, she encounters a question she hasn’t heard before: “Which dad is the real dad?” Riley becomes confused, and her thought journey leads her to explore another question: “What makes a family?”

Riley's dads explain that "some families have one parent, and some have two. Some families have stepparents, or aunts and uncles, or grandparents." While every family is different, the thing that makes a family is love!

When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff

When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. But Aidan didn’t feel like a girl, and realized he felt more comfortable and happy as a boy. Aiden and his parents worked together to adjust to this big change, and his parents supported him along the way.

Now, Aidan is about to become an older brother, and he wants to make sure everything is perfect for the new baby. He is excited to help his parents prepare for the baby’s arrival, but then he becomes worried as well -- what if they picked something the baby didn’t like? What if Aidan didn’t know how to be a good big brother?

Aidan’s mom reassures him by reminding him that she didn’t know he was a boy when he was born, but he has helped her learn and fix her mistakes. Aidan then realizes that maybe things wouldn't be perfect. Maybe he would have to fix mistakes he didn’t know he was making, and that would be okay, because knowing how to love someone is the most important part of being a big brother, and Aidan knew how to do that.

Jacob's Room to Choose by Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Jacob is a boy who likes to wear dresses at school. When it’s time to use the bathroom, he becomes anxious; even though he is a boy, the other boys usually tell him to use the girls’ bathroom and chase him out. He tries to avoid using the bathroom at school, but he also feels it’s unfair that he needs to wait until he gets home every day!

When Jacob’s teacher learns about what’s been happening, she helps Jacob and his classmates see that things like clothing or hairstyles don’t determine gender. Girls can wear pants, and boys can have long hair or wear dresses. Then, the class creates new signs for the bathroom doors so that everyone can feel comfortable using the restroom.

Sparkle Boy by Lesléa Newman

Casey loves playing with his older sister, Jessie. He enjoys playing with all of the things that she loves, like dressing up in sparkly skirts. Casey decides to ask his mom for a sparkly skirt too, but Jessie says that boys don’t wear skirts. This makes Casey feel bad -- he wants to wear what he loves, just like Jessie. Casey and Jessie’s mom decides that Casey can wear whatever makes him feel comfortable and happy.

Casey feels happier as he’s able to explore all the things he really loves, like wearing nail polish, but Jessie still struggles to accept Casey’s preferences. One day, a group of kids bully Casey and mock him for wearing a shimmery skirt. Jessie stands up for Casey and defends him in front of the bullies, and the situation makes her realize that she loves and accepts Casey for who he is.
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