LGBTQ Learner Resources

 

Imagine a World that is Free from Fear: A Kindergarten to Grade Eight Resource Addressing Issues Relating to Homophobia

By Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario

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This resource is comprised of thirty-six lesson plans divided by grade and organized around four themes: Pride and Self-Respect; Safe Schools and Safe Communities; Anti-Bullying and Conflict Resolution; and Relationships. It also contains a glossary of terms and resource list.

Reference:

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. (2004). Imagine a world that is free from fear: A kindergarten to grade eight resource addressing issues relating to homophobia. Toronto, ON. 

Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism: A K-12 Curriculum Resource Guide  

By Toronto District School Board

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Curriculum document that includes definitions, frequently asked questions, and activities for preparing K-12 classes and lesson plans. Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism: A K-12 Curriculum Resource Guide is an amalgamated, revised, and updated version of previous anti-homophobia curriculum resource guides and documents produced by the Equitable and Inclusive Schools Team, the Human Rights Office, Library and Learning Resources, and classroom teachers of the Toronto District School Board in partnership with a number of community organizations.

Reference:

Toronto District School Board. (2011). Challenging homophobia and heterosexism: A K-12 curriculum resource guide. Retrieved from http://gsanetwork.ca/resources/documents/challenging-homophobia-and-heterosexism-k-12-curriculum-resource-guide

LGBTQ Youth and Education: Policies and Practices

By Chris Mayo

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Based on the diverse experiences of LGBTQ students and their allies, this essential volume brings together in one resource the major issues that schools must address to improve the educational outcomes for gender and sexual minority students, as well as all students. Many of these issues involve negative school-based experiences that teachers and administrators need to be aware of as they interact with students on a daily basis, including those that encourage dropping out, substane abuse, and disproportionate thoughts of suicide. This insightful work not only examines the challenges of discrimination, harassment, and alienation that LGBTQ youth face, but it also captures students’ resilience and creativity in organizing against those challenges. The text includes teaching strategies, innovative projects, curricular revisions, and policy initiatives that have had positive effects on LGBTQ learning, aspirations, and school climate.

Reference:

Mayo, C. (2014). LGBTQ youth and education: Policies and practices. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. 

Gay-Straight Alliances: A Handbook for Students, Educators, and Parents

by Ian K. Macgillivray

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Gay-Straight Alliances: A Handbook for Students, Educators, and Parents is a step-by-step guide to the school club that provides a safe place for LGBT and straight kids. A Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) provides a safe place for students to discuss issues, meet others, and get support from those who care. This book explains exactly how to begin this important type of school club that helps build positive relationships and promotes knowledge and tolerance. This guide tells students what it takes to start a GSA at their school, teachers how best to work with GSAs, and helps principals and superintendents to understand the applicable laws. Parents who read this book can discover for themselves just how positive an influence the GSA may be in their child’s life.

Reference:

Macgillivray, I. K. (2012). Gay-straight alliances: A handbook for students, educators, and parents. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Gay, Lesbian, And Transgender Issues In Education: Programs, Policies, And Practices

by James T. Sears (Editor)

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Invaluable for educators, counsellors, graduate and undergraduate students, and LGBT youth alike, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Issues in Education is readily accessible and easy-to-read, yet still provides in-depth, multidimensional examinations of the LGBT youth programs and practices essential for the propagation of social tolerance, acceptance, and safety of our youth. The LGBT youth voices sing clear their views about the urgent need for programs and policies within educational resources to challenge the present dominant intolerant thinking. The editor presents cogent essays that reveal the complex issues of the educational programs and practices, while offering strategies and hope for societal change.

Reference:

Sears, J. T. (2005). Gay, lesbian, and transgender issues in education: Programs, policies, and practices. New York, NY: Routledge.

Open Minds to Equality: A Sourcebook of Learning Activities to Affirm Diversity and Promote Equity, 3rd Edition

By Nancy Schniedewind and Ellen Davidson

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Open Minds to Equality is an educator’s sourcebook of activities to help students understand and change inequalities based on race, gender, class, age, language, sexual orientation, physical/mental ability, and religion. The activities also promote respect for diversity and interpersonal equality among students, fostering a classroom that is participatory, cooperative, and democratic. Learning activities are sequenced to build awareness and understanding. First, students, develop skills for building trust, communication and collaboration. They learn to recognize stereotypes and discrimination and explore their presence in people’s lives and in institutions. Finally, students create changes, gaining self-confidence and experiencing collective responsibility. This book is an essential resource for teachers, leaders in professional development and curriculum specialists.

Reference:

Schniedewind, N., & Davidson, E. (2006). Open minds to equality: A sourcebook of learning activities to affirm diversity and promote equity (3rd ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools.

Dramatic Changes: Talking About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity with High School Students Through Drama

by Paula Ressler 

Teachers need no drama background or extensive knowledge about sexual orientation and gender identity to use this book. Each chapter provides an introduction to the type of drama presented – from simple role plays through complex and extended pieces – along with educational objectives, rationales, resources, and materials needed. High school teachers can use this book to incorporate role plays, scripted dramas, multifaceted and extended dramas and socially critical drama approaches into both classroom and extracurricular activities. (Grades 9-12)

References:

Ressler, P. (2002). Dramatic changes: Talking about sexual orientation and gender indentity with high school students through drama. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Drama.

 

Safely Out: Activities for Challenging Homophobia in Schools

by Toronto District School Board

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Produced by the Equity Studies Centre, Toronto Board of Education, and Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia (T.E.A.C.H.). This document offers educators background information on issues of homophobia and heterosexism, many useful activities that can be done with students in the junior school to secondary school level, as well as ideas for staff in-service and community involvement. Included is an extensive resource list.

Reference:

Toronto District School Board. (1997). Safely out: Activities for challenging homophobia in schools. Toronto, ON.

Supporting Transgender and Transsexual students in K-12 Schools 

By Canadian Teachers Federation 

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In its fifth publication of this resource, the Canadian Teachers Federation provides an educational series designed to assist teachers, administrators, and counsellors in understanding sexual and gender minority issues. Authored by Dr. Kristopher Wells, Gayle Roberts and Carol Allan, the 57-page guidebook aims to demystify gender variance and provide evidence-based information for educators wishing to create caring, respectful, and safe learning environments for all students.

Reference:

Wells, K., Roberts, G., and Allan, C. (2012). Supporting transgender and transsexual students in K-12 schools: A guide for educators. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Teachers’ Federation.

Troubling Education: Queer Activism and Anti-Oppressive Education 

By Kevin K. Kumashiro

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Today, teachers find themselves mandated to address social and cultural difference in their policies and classroom practices. Yet, the question of how to address difference is far from clear. Troubling Education offers a rare alternative to oversimplified, highly abstract, or technologizing approaches to this question. Kumashiro grapples with concrete questions of classroom practice in context–a task informed throughout by his innovative take on theorizing difference and social change. While several books have discussed the need for anti-oppressive school environments, few have addressed actual research for teachers to turn to as resources for classroom practice. Kumashiro draws on interviews with queer activists as a starting point for discussion of different models of reading and challenging oppression. It is through these personal stories that the complex theory and methodology Kumashiro presents gains particular relevance for creating actual pedagogical practice.

Reference:

Kumashiro, K. K. (2002). Troubling education: Queer activism and anti-oppressive education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Acting Out! Combating Homophobia Through Teacher Activism

By Mollie V. Blackburn, Caroline T. Clark, Lauren M. Kenney, Jill M. Smith editors

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In this volume, teachers from urban, suburban, and rural districts join together in a teacher inquiry group to challenge homophobia and heterosexism in schools and classrooms. To create safe learning environments for all students they address key topics, including seizing teachable moments, organizing faculty, deciding whether to come out in the classroom, using LGBTQ-inclusive texts, running a Gay-Straight Alliance, changing district policy to protect LGBTQ teachers and students, dealing with resistant students, and preparing preservice teachers to do anti-homophobia work.

Reference:

Blackburn, M. V., Clark, C. T., Keney, L. M., & Smith, J. M. (2009). Acting out!: Combating homophobia through teacher activism. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Children and Bullying: How Parents and Educators Can Reduce Bullying at School

by Ken Rigby

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Parents and educators are often left trying to solve a difficult problem without sufficient evidence to support suggested remedies. Drawing on a wealth of research, Ken Rigby provides both parents and educators with clear explanations and effective strategies for combating bullying among children as well as preventing children from becoming involved in bullying situations. The book explores key issues such as ways to empower children to deal with bullies, the crucial role positive peer influences can play, and how schools can develop effective anti-bullying programs. Children and Bullying is a vital resource for educators and parents alike as they work to create safe learning environments.

Reference:

Rigby, K. (2007). Children and bullying: How parents and educators can reduce bullying at school. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective

by Michael J. Bayly (Editor)

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Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students is a comprehensive training guidebook for educators who are committed to diversity and the full inclusion of LGBT students in every aspect of the Catholic high school experience. Based on five years of pilot testing in Catholic schools, this unique book emphasizes safe-staff training in integrating the Church’s pastoral, social, and moral dimensions with the special needs of LGBT students. The book presents strategies and resources for building safer schools, helpful materials for communicating with parents, and general guidelines for developing and maintaining professional helping relationships with LGBT students.

Reference:

Bayly, M. J. (2012). Creating safe environments for LGBT students: A catholic schools perspective. New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Every Class in Every School: The First National Climate Survey On Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools

by Researchers: Catherine Taylor (Principal Investigator), PH.D., University of Winnipeg and Tracey Peter (Co-Investigator), PH.D., University of Manitoba

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This report discusses the results of a national survey of Canadian high school students undertaken in order to investigate what life at school is like for students with sexual or gender minority status. The study was commissioned by the Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (ECHRT) and funded by the ECHRT with additional support from the University of Winnipeg Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Grant Competition, and Sexual and Gender Diversity: Vulnerability and Resilience (SVR), a research team funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Fonds de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRSC) du Province de Québec.

Reference:

Taylor, C. & Peter, T., with McMinn, T.L., Elliott, T., Beldom, S., Ferry, A., Gross, Z., Paquin, S., & Schachter, K. (2011). Every class in every school: The first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Final report. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.

     Undoing Homophobia in Primary Schools

     by No Outsiders Project Team

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Through their accounts of practice, reflections and interpretations, vignettes and images, the teachers describe how they have challenged this non-addressed area of inclusion across England, from a tiny village church school to urban and suburban settings. Working within and beyond the curriculum, teachers have broken boundaries in primary practice for sexualities in a struggle for greater equality. The teachers who contributed to this book are all members of the No Outsiders project team, which has made worldwide news and attracted the attention of practitioners and policy makers at local and national level. The book shows how it is not only through planned innovations and policy developments that change happens but also, and crucially, through the day-to-day moments where new thinking leads to new action for equality and social justice.

Reference:

No Outsiders Project Team. (2010). Undoing homophobia in primary schools. London, UK: Trentham Books.

When the Drama Club is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students

by Jeff Perrotti, Kim Westheimer

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When the Drama Club Is Not Enough presents the work of two young activists who have been at the forefront of the successful Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students in Massachusetts, a model for states and school districts nationwide. They give concrete, hard-won, and often inspiring lessons on integrating gay and lesbian issues to create powerful change for school communities. The book discusses the previously undiscussable–gay and lesbian identity and self-esteem at the middle and elementary school level, and gay and lesbian issues in school sports. It tells the story of a high school junior who, at the end of one of Jeff Perrotti’s workshops on school sports, raised his hand and said he was a football captain and wanted to come out and needed help, and uses this dramatic narrative of personal courage to show step-by-step how gay and lesbian issues can be a catalyst for transformation of schools. The authors speak directly to those who want to change school climate–parents, teachers, administrators, and students concerned about harassment and safety. They offer seasoned and often humorous advice on dealing with controversy–even if it occurs in the context of a school presentation on sexual orientation attended by angry and disruptive parents.

Reference:

Perrotti, J., & Westheimer, K. (2002). When the drama club is not enough: Lessons from the safe schools program for gay and lesbian students. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

www.stopabully.ca

Stop A Bully is a registered national charity and Canada-wide anti-bullying program developed in 2009, which allows any student who is a victim or witness of bullying and cyberbullying to be able to safely report the details to school officials.   Any student, at any school in Canada, can use this reporting service, which is provided at no cost to all students and schools.  The Stop A Bully program helps increase bullying awareness and accountability within schools to allow officials to be more proactive in preventing serious incidents of bullying.  Stop A Bully provides schools with critical information to be proactive in assisting all students who are witness, targets, or perpetrators of school bullying.

www.mygsa.ca 

MyGSA.ca is Canada’s website for safer and inclusive schools for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) community and offers many resources for implementing a Gay Straight Alliance in schools. MyGSA.ca provides classroom materials related to LGBTQ equity and inclusive education as well as resources for students and parents. They offer help in finding lesson plans and activities, and supporting a GSA or safer space group. If you’re interested in working towards making school communities safer and more inclusive for everyone, including LGBTQ students, or if you are simply looking to learn more about LGBTQ inclusion in the classroom, this is the space to do it.

www.challenginghomophobia.net/ch/ 

Challenging Homophobia is a tool for middle and high school teachers, staff, and providers. Users draw on their own experience and the information provided on the site to strengthen their skills for intervening against homophobia in the classroom. This interactive workshop takes you through a discussion of what constitutes prejudice and how it manifests against the Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/ Transgender community. Exercises help you think through your own experience with homophobia and come up with personalized strategies for intervening against homophobia next time you encounter it.

www.pridenet.ca 

The Pride Education Network of teachers, administrators, support staff, youth and parents strives to make the B.C. school system more welcoming and equitable for LGBTQ students and staff, and queer families. We imagine schools as places where differences are not simply tolerated, but celebrated. This website contains resources for youth, educators, and families. 

www.glsen.org 

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is an American organization that seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in K-12 schools. GLSEN supports gay–straight alliances (GSAs) along with sponsoring the annual National Day of Silence and No Name-Calling Week and providing resources for teachers on how to support LGBT students, such as “Safe Schools” training.

www.egale.ca 

Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (ECHRT) is Canada’s only national charity promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) human rights through research, education and community engagement. Egale’s vision is of a Canada free of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and all other forms of discrimination so that every person can achieve their full potential, unencumbered by hatred and bias. Our mission and values help pave the way for our vision to become reality.

www.prevnet.ca

Canada’s authority on bullying, PREVNet is a national network of leading researchers and organizations, working together to stop bullying in Canada. It is the first of its kind in this country and a world leader in bullying prevention. Through education, research, training and policy change, PREVNet aims to stop the violence caused by bullying—so every child can grow up happy, healthy and safe.

www.safeschoolscoalition.org 

Safe Schools Coalition is an international public-private partnership in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, that is working to help schools – at home and all over the world – become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

www.colage.org 

COLAGE unites people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer parents into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities. They offer tips on how to make classrooms safer and GSA’s more inclusive for students with LBTQ parents.

www.cyberbullying.ca

An informational resource website on cyberbullying, which involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.

Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History                                                         

Bullied is a documentary film that chronicles one student’s ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and offers an inspiring message of hope to those fighting harassment today. It can become a cornerstone of anti-bullying efforts in middle and high schools. Bullied is designed to help administrators, teachers, and counsellors create a safer school environment for all students, not just those who are gay and lesbian. It is also intended to help all students understand the terrible toll bullying can take on its victims, and to encourage students to stand up for their classmates who are being harassed.

Coming Out, Coming Home: Asian and Pacific Islander Family Stories 

One Filipino and three Chinese families and their gay & lesbian children engage in dialogue about shame, grief, love, growth, living with HIV/AIDS, the acceptance of homosexuality by family members, & the cultural perceptions of homosexuality. The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance in San Francisco awarded this documentary with the 1997 George Choy Memorial Award.

Just Call Me Kade

This 26 minute film tells the true story of Kade Farlow Collins, a sixteen year old FTM (female to male transgender person) residing in Tucson, Arizona. As you will see, Kade’s parents maintain a supportive and nurturing relationship to Kade regarding the many challenges facing their teenage child.

Lipstick

10 minute video – “You’ve known her forever. She’s your best friend. You talk about everything. How will you react when she tells you she’s gay?” The video is a wonderful piece to trigger a discussion of issues such as ambivalence, peer pressure, friendship, prejudice and sexual diversity. Made for intermediate and high school levels.

Out of the Past: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights in America (1998)

The first documentary about lesbian and gay history ever produced for a high school audience. This film, winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, recovers facets of our history that have been left out of the textbooks and follows one young woman making history today (97 min).

Put This On The {Map}

This is the compelling documentary about a generation of young people reteaching gender and sexual identity. Twenty-six young people weave together this ground-breaking narrative of shifting identities and social change. In an open and honest exploration of education, family, and community, Put This on the {Map} moves an audience from self-reflection to action.

Straightlaced

With a fearless look at a highly charged subject, Straightlaced unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. Their stories reflect a diversity of experiences, demonstrating how gender role expectations and homophobia are interwoven, and illustrating the different ways that these expectations connect with culture, race and class.

SPEAK UP! Improving the Lives of GLBT Youth

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students and their allies face unique challenges of violence and harassment in schools. SPEAK UP! explores what these students and their allies have done to transform their schools into safer and more welcoming environments. Interviews with students, parents, teachers, administrators and national activists highlight not only the need for transformation, but offer resources and advice for those actively working for change.

That’s A Family

With courage and humor, the children in That’s a Family! take viewers on a tour through their lives as they speak candidly about what it’s like to grow up in a family with parents of different races or religions, divorced parents, a single parent, gay or lesbian parents, adoptive parents or grandparents as guardians. This award-winning film will stretch your mind and touch your heart no matter what your age. That’s a Family! comes with an extensive discussion and teaching guide, which includes lesson plans to use with the film, suggestions for facilitating classroom discussion at different grade levels, and additional resources for teachers, families and children.

Tackling anti-Gay Bullying in Schools

Teasing, name-calling, hitting, spreading rumors or embarrassing someone in public; these aggressive behaviours are all forms of bullying. Bullying can have both short and long-term impacts on someone’s physical and psychological health. Victims often feel lonely, isolated and unsafe. Researchers have also shown that bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and physical illness. In extreme cases, bullying can be fatal. In fact, over the past few years the media reported cases of suicide among teens who ended their life after being the target of repeated harassment at school and in cyberspace.

To This Day Project

A spoken word poem written and performed by Shane Koyczan.

LGBT High School Students Share Their Experiences

By GLSEN National

Meet GLSEN’s newest student ambassardors. These LGBT high school students from across the United States share their experiences and talk about the impact GSA’s, Day of Silence and other GLSEN programs have made on their lives.

Donovan’s Big Day

by Lesléa Newman

Donovan’s two moms are getting married, and he can’t wait for the celebration to begin. After all, as ringbearer, he has a very important job to do. Any boy or girl with same-sex parents – or who knows a same-sex couple –  will appreciate this picture book about love, family, and marriage.  The story captures the joy and excitement of a wedding day while the illustrations show the happy occasion from a child’s point of view.

A Tale of Two Daddies

by Vanita Oelschlager

In an affectionate story of adoption in a gay family, a small girl answers a friend’s questions about what it is like to have two fathers. The boy asks: “Which dad would build your home in a tree? And which dad helps when you skin your knee?” And the girl answers: “Poppa’s the one who builds in a tree. Daddy’s the one who fixes my knee.” The simple, immediate rhymes are illustrated with digitally touched linoleum prints in bright colors and thick black lines that show the friends at play, as well as cozy scenarios of the girl in her nurturing home.

The Boy In The Dress

by David Walliams

The sparkling debut children’s novel from David Walliams, co-creator and co-star of the multi-award-winning Little Britain. Dennis was different. Why was he different, you ask? Well, a small clue might be in the title of this book! Charming, surprising and hilarious – The Boy in the Dress is everything you would expect from the co-creator of Little Britain. David Walliams’s beautiful first novel will touch the hearts (and funny bones) of children and adults alike.

Dogs Don’t Do Ballet

by Anna Kemp

Biff is not like ordinary dogs. He doesn’t do dog stuff like peeing on lampposts, scratching his fleas or drinking out of toilets. If you throw him a stick, he’ll just look at you like you’re crazy. No, Biff is no ordinary dog. Biff likes moonlight and music and walking on his tiptoes. You see, Biff doesn’t think he’s a dog, Biff thinks he’s a ballerina, which is all very well …But dogs don’t do ballet – do they? The hilarious story of a small dog with a big personality and even bigger dreams!

All I Want To Be Is Me

by Phyllis Rothblatt

All I Want To Be Is Me is a beautifully illustrated children’s book reflecting the diverse ways that young children experience and express their gender. The book gives voice to the feelings of children who don’t fit into narrow gender stereotypes, and who just want to be free to be themselves. This book is a celebration of all children being who they are, and is a positive reflection of children, wherever they experience themselves on the gender spectrum. “All I Want To Be Is Me” offers a wonderful way for all children to learn about gender diversity, embracing different ways to be, and being a true friend. Visit www.alliwanttobeisme.com to learn more about how this book can be used by parents and teachers, and to hear the original song, “All I Want To Be Is Me,” that goes along with the book.

10,000 Dresses

by Marcus Ewert and Rex Ray

Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows…Unfortunately, when Bailey’s awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary: “You’re a BOY!” Mother and Father tell Bailey. “You shouldn’t be thinking about dresses at all.” Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey’s imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey becomes the girl she always dreamed she’d be! 

My Princess Boy

by Cheryl Kilodavis and Suzanne DeSimone

Dyson loves pink, sparkly things. Sometimes he wears dresses. Sometimes he wears jeans. He likes to wear his princess tiara, even when climbing trees. He’s a Princess Boy. Inspired by the author’s son, and by her own initial struggles to understand, this is a heart-warming book about unconditional love and one remarkable family. It is also a call for tolerance and an end to bullying and judgments. The world is a brighter place when we accept everyone for who they are.

Daddy, Papa, and Me

By Lesléa Newman

Rhythmic text and illustrations with universal appeal show a toddler spending the day with its daddies. From hide-and-seek to dress-up, then bath time and a kiss goodnight, there’s no limit to what a loving family can do together. Share the loving bond between same-sex parents and their children.

Mommy, Mama, and Me

By Lesléa Newman 

Mommy, Mama, and Me depicts the gentle, nurturing relationship of a lesbian couple and their little one. In this sweet board book, the flowing lines and warm palette of Carol Thompson’s mixed media illustrations work in concert with Lesléa Newman’s rhythmic text. Also, see this book’s gay-fathers counterpart, Daddy, Papa, and Me, by the same creators.

And Tango Makes Three

by Justin Richardson

Based on a true story about a charming penguin family living in New York City’s Central Park Zoo. Roy and Silo, two male penguins, are “a little bit different.” They cuddle and share a nest like the other penguin couples, and when all the others start hatching eggs, they want to be parents, too.

Tiger Flowers

by Patricia Quinlan

Joel adores his uncle Michael. Then Michael comes to live with Joel’s family because he has AIDS, and they grow even closer. When Michael dies, Joel is heartsick – until he learns to find comfort in the wonderful memories of his uncle. A moving story about a family who finds consolation together after the untimely death of a loved one.

King & King

By Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland

In this postmodern fractured fairy tale, a worn-out and badly beleaguered Queen is ready for retirement. After many hours of nagging, the crown prince, who “never cared much for princesses,” finally caves in and agrees to wed in order to ascend the throne. Their search for a suitable bride extends far and wide, but none of the eligible princesses strikes the Prince’s fancy, until Princess Madeleine shows up. The Prince is immediately smitten- with her brother, Prince Lee. The wedding is “very special,” the Queen settles down on a chaise lounge in the sun, and everyone lives happily ever after.

The Family Book

By Todd Parr

The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way. Parr’s message about the importance of embracing our differences is delivered in a playful way. With his trademark bold, bright colors and silly scenes, this book will encourage children to ask questions about their own families. Perfect for young children just beginning to read, The Family Book is designed to encourage early literacy, enhance emotional development, celebrate multiculturalism, promote character growth, and strengthen family relationships