Titles that we recommend are featured below. The ones with reviews are noted with an asterisk (*). Some titles are recommended with a caveat. At the end of this page, we provide a list of titles on this theme, with reviews, that we do not recommend.
This list includes books about gender diversity for all ages. For more books about gender diversity for young children, see Early Childhood: Learning About Gender Diversity.
Early Childhood | Elementary | Middle School | YA Fiction | YA Nonfiction
Biographies & Memoirs | Poetry & Lit | Adult Nonfiction | Parenting | Education | Related Reading
Being You: A First Conversation about Gender
By Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Anne/Andy Passchier (Illustrator)
Call Me Max
By Kyle Lukoff and Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)
Mombian review: Call Me Max
Calvin *
By Vanessa Ford, JR Ford, and Kayla Harren (Illustrator)
A Child's Introduction to Pride: The Inspirational History and Culture of the LGBTQIA+ Community
By Sarah Prager and Caitlin O'Dwyer (Illustrator)
Flor Fights Back: A Stonewall Riots Survival Story
By Joy Michael Ellison and Francesca Ficorilli (Illustrator)
Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five
By Phil Bildner and Daniel J. O'Brien (Illustrator)
Max and the Talent Show
By Kyle Lukoff and Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)
Mombian review: Max and the Talent Show
Sharice's Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman *
By Sharice Davids, Nancy K. Mays, and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Illustrator)
'Twas the Night Before Pride
By Joanna McClintick and Juana Medina (Illustrator)
Spanish edition available: La víspera de orgullo
Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist
By Terry Catasús Jennings, Rosita Stevens-Holsey, and Ashanti Fortson (Illustrator)
Pet
By Akwaeke Emezi
Read a teacher's story: Exploring Justice through Fiction: Middle School Students Analyze the Book Pet
Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws
By Kate Bornstein, Sara Quin (Foreword by)
Ma and Me: A Memoir
By Putsata Reang
Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance
By Syan Rose, foreword by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Troublemaker for Justice The Story of Bayard Rustin the Man Behind the March on Washington*
By Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, Michael G. Long
I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters
By Michael G. Long (Editor), Bayard Rustin, Julian Bond (Foreword by)
Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin
By Bayard Rustin, Devon W. Carbado (Editor), Donald Weise (Editor)
There Are Trans People Here
By H. Melt Download a study guide for There Are Trans People Here: Download.
It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living
By Dan Savage (Editor), Terry Miller (Editor)
My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely
By Kate Bornstein, Kate Bornstein
The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America: A Reader on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights
By Javier Corrales (Editor), Mario Pecheny (Editor)
Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States
By Joey Mogul, Andrea Ritchie, Kay Whitlock
Queer and Trans Migrations: Dynamics of Illegalization, Detention, and Deportation
Edited by Eithne Luibheid and Karma R. Chavez
Queer Indigenous Studies: Critical Interventions in Theory, Politics, and Literature
By Qwo-Li Driskill (Editor), Chris Finley (Editor), Brian Joseph Gilley (Editor)
Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity
By G. Winston James (Editor), Lisa C. Moore (Editor)
That's Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation
By Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (Editor)
Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots?: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform
By Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (Editor)
Gay Parents/Straight Schools: Building Communication and Trust
By Virginia Casper, Steven B. Schultz
The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Parents and Professionals Supporting Transgender and Nonbinary Children
By Stephanie A. Brill, Rachel Pepper
Gay Parents / Straight Schools: Building Communication and Trust
By Virginia Casper, Steven B. Schultz
LGBTQ+ History in High School Classes in the United States since 1990
By Stacie Brensilver Berman
LGBTQ Youth and Education: Policies and Practices
By Cris Mayo and James A. Banks (Editor)
LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Children's Librarianship: Policies, Programs, and Practices
By Lucy Santos Green, Jenna Spiering, Vanessa Lynn Kitzie, and Julia Erlanger
Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom
By Caitlin L. Ryan and Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality
By Kim Cosier (Editor), Rachel Harper (Editor), Jeff Sapp (Editor)
Understanding and Teaching U.S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History
Edited by Susan K. Freeman and Leila J. Rupp
Not recommended
- Stonewall by Rob Sanders
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
- Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon
Learn about our criteria for selecting titles at Social Justice Books. Feedback on these lists and suggestions for additional titles are welcome.
Most of the books on these lists are linked for more information or purchase to Bookshop (an indie bookstore platform) and / or Powells.com (an independent, unionized bookstore). A small percentage from book sales through these links goes to Teaching for Change.