The Best LGBTQ+ Books for Young Readers As Picked by Librarians

January sometimes feels like a slog to get through, but for readers who love books for children, tweens, and teens—hereafter simply called youth literature—the end of January means that librarians will be naming the best works of literature from the previous year. The Youth Media Awards cover everything from outstanding audiobooks to the best books about the Asian American and Pacific Islander experience, and they don some major medals to the best picture book illustrator (the Caldecott), the best book for youth up to age 14 (the Newbery), and the best book written for teens in the prior year (the Printz).

In addition to the awards, librarians work for a year debating which books deserve a spot on highly curated lists across a wide range of topics. For readers looking to pick up more queer kid lit, the Youth Media Awards offer both an opportunity to see some big awards placed upon LGBTQ+ literature with the Stonewalls and around the same time, youth librarians share their Rainbow List picks of the best in queer lit for kids.

Let’s take a look at the best of the best in LGBTQ+ youth literature from the last year. We’ll take a look at the Stonewall Awards, the Rainbow List, and highlight some of the queer youth literature that appeared across the awards landscape. Despite an environment that is especially hostile toward queer youth, books highlighting the experiences and stories of LGBTQ+ books are continuing to be uplifted and championed.

The Stonewall Awards

The Stonewall Awards are the first and longest-running awards specifically for LGBTQ+ books. It was first given in 1971, and there are three categories of the Stonewall Awards: the Barbara Gittings Literature Award for adult literature, the Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award for nonfiction, and the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award for youth literature. The award for children’s and young adult literature split into two distinct awards in 2023, meaning that one winner is a children’s book and one is a young adult book. Since this is specifically about the best LGBTQ+ youth literature honored by librarians, those are what you’ll find here (keep an eye out for the adult winners and honors here).

• Stonewall Book Award for Children’s Literature Winner: Lunar Boy written and illustrated by Jes and Cin Wibowo
• Stonewall Book Award for Children’s Literature Honors: Marley’s Pride written by Joëlle Retener, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley; Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy; The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon; and What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie, illustrated by Loveis Wise
• Stonewall Book Award for Young Adult Literature Winner: Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa
• Stonewall Book Award for Young Adult Literature Honors: Most Ardently: A Pride and Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa; Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley; Road Home by Rex Ogle; and Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield

The Rainbow List

Created by members of the Rainbow Round Table, part of the American Library Association concerned with the information needs of LGBTQ+ library workers and library patrons, this list highlights the best of the best in queer lit for young readers from the previous year. It’s curated, meaning that it’s not simply a collection of every LGBTQ+ book published in a year. It’s designed to highlight the breadth and depth of queer youth literature as approved by librarians with knowledge and expertise.

This year’s full list is available here and features dozens of titles broken down into age groups. It also features two top 10 lists highlighting the best of the best in LGBTQ+ books for young readers and the best LGBTQ+ books for teens. Those are as follows.

Top Ten Titles for Young Readers

• The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling

• Noah Frye Gets Crushed by Maggie Horne

• Linus and Etta Could Use a Win by Caroline Huntoon

• Family is Family by Melissa Marr, Illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero

• Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin by Michelle
  Meadows, Illustrated by Jamiel Law

• Marley’s Pride by Joëlle Retener, Illustrated by DeAnn Wiley

• Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy

• Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo

• Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid

• How Are You, Verity? By Meghan Wilson Duff, Illustrated by Taylor Barron

Top Ten Titles for Teen Readers

• Icarus by K. Ancrum

• Kindling by Traci Chee

• Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole

• Rana Joon and the One & Only Now by Shideh Etaat

• Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa

• How the Boogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith Jr.

• Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by Maia Kobabe and Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier

• Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

• The Borrow a Boyfriend Club by Page Powars

• Dear Wendy By Ann Zhao

The RISE Project

Formerly the Amelia Bloomer list, the feminist literature-focused list was reimagined as the RISE project in 2019. Librarians who put this list together are part of the American Library Association’s Feminist Task Force and/or the Social Responsibilities Round Table. These books are the best feminist reads for youth focused on social justice, intersectionality, and deliberate antiracism. It shouldn’t be at all surprising this list, which has 50+ titles this year, is packed with excellent books by and about queer people. Check out the full list here. Among the top 10 best of the best books on the list, there is one very openly LGBTQ+ book: The Race To Be Myself: Young Readers Edition by Caster Semenya. Take a look through the long list, though, as you’ll see a whole bunch more.

More LGBTQ+ Representation Across the Youth Literature Awards

Here are some of the other books which won awards or won honors in non-LGBTQ+ specific awards categories. It’s a nice array, y’all! Seriously. Do take note that I’ve done the best I can to track down representation, and because of how tricky (and sometimes invasive) that can be with authors, I’ve stuck to titles that have reviews indicating queer rep if it’s not obvious and I’ve stuck to authors who are very open about their identities.

• Newbery Honor: The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy features a nonbinary secondary character
• Printz Winner: Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia features a scene where a young man comes out to the main protagonist—it’s not the center of the book nor the story as a whole, but it’s a noteworthy moment. Mar Julia, the illustrator, uses they/them pronouns as well.
• Printz Honor: Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White is a queer Appalachian thriller
• Printz Honor: The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag is a queer comic about identity, loss, and magic.
• Printz Honor: Road Home by Rex Ogle, following Ogle’s true story after he’s kicked out of his home by his conservative father because he was gay.
• Sydney Taylor Silver Medalist in Picture Books (honoring stories about the Jewish experience): Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal features a diverse array of families, including those with same-sex parents
• Sydney Taylor Silver Medalist in Middle Grade Books (honoring stories about the Jewish experience): Just Shy of Ordinary by A.J. Sass, which features a nonbinary main character
• Sydney Taylor Gold Medalist in Young Adult Books (honoring stories about the Jewish experience): Night Owls by A.R. Vishny, a story steeped in Jewish folklore with sapphic representation
• Sydney Taylor Silver Medalist in Young Adult Books (honoring stories about the Jewish experience): The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb features a genderqueer lesbian, among other queer threads
• Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor (Honoring books about the Latine experience): Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar, a queer coming-of-age story set during the rigged Honduran presidential election of 2017
• Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award (honoring the best in African American literature): Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin illustrated by Jamiel Law, a nonfiction picture book about the legendary James Baldwin
• YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Honor: Homebody by Theo Parish, a coming-of-age graphic memoir about coming home to understanding one’s gender and sexuality (it’s great, y’all).

Another note of queer representation: this year’s winner of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, Carole Boston Weatherford, has consistently used her nonfiction children’s books to highlight issues related to activism and social justice. Among her works is A Song for the Unsung, written with Rob Sanders, about civil rights and queer rights activist Bayard Rustin.