In addition to their annual Youth Media Awards honoring the best in youth literature, librarians work together to curate selection lists of the best books from the prior year across a wide range of topics, themes, and genres. One such list is the Rainbow List. The Rainbow List showcases the best in LGBTQ+ literature for children, tweens, and teens.
The Rainbow List not only offers a range of the best LGBTQ+ titles for youth, members on the committee also designate a Top 10 list of the best of the best both for children’s books and books for YA readers.
But rather than summarize the work done by this year’s committee, let’s hear from them directly. Find below a little bit about the work of the Rainbow List, the goals of such a curated LGBTQ+ youth literature guide, and the duo of Top 10 lists.
The 2025 Rainbow Book List is excited to present its selection of books celebrating LGBTQIA+ youth and families, spanning from birth to age 18. The compilation includes over 175 titles released between July 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024.
With the attacks against and removal of so many queer stories from public and school libraries, the existence of this list is vital to continue to assist librarians, educators, caregivers, LGBTQIA+ members, and community allies in selecting quality LGBTQIA+ stories to include in their collections. Over the last few years, our job as librarians to fight for the inclusion of stories that reflect and celebrate the existence of all genders and sexual identities has become increasingly difficult. Unfortunately, the fact that this list exists will anger those individuals who wish to erase and censor queer identities and challenge titles in library collections.
And through it all, we remain encouraged that so many queer stories are continuing to be told. The experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth and families deserve to be represented and included in ALL library collections. It is our hope that the work of this committee will help stakeholders be intentional about including these stories in their collections and libraries. And to those who support and use this list, we thank you.
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The Top Ten Books for Young Readers are:
- 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
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The Top Ten Books for Young Adults are:
- 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
You can access the full list at https://bit.ly/2025RainbowBookList .
Thank you in advance for caring about this list and sharing it with those who need access to queer titles. We are so proud of this beautiful, colorful list of books.
Love, The 2025 Rainbow Book List Committee
Source : This Year’s Rainbow Book List Highlights the Best in LGBTQ+ Youth Books
