Early Childhood: Learning About Gender Diversity

One necessary step to positively support the development of a young child’s gender identity is understanding distinct yet interrelated aspects of gender: assigned sex, gender role, gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality.

Historically and currently, a binary perspective — meaning only two options — on being female or male has prevailed in the United States and many other societies, with proscribed sets of rules of behavior, dress, and roles for males and females. Current thinking reveals a more complex and nuanced understanding of gender development that goes beyond a binary approach and casts greater light on how expectations of traditional femininity and masculinity limit children’s development.

— Excerpted from Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards.

The books on this list are for young children. For books about gender diversity for older children, see our LGBTQ+ booklist.

Teaching for Change carefully selects the best multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators. Learn about our criteria for selecting titles. 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.

Titles with reviews on this site are noted with an asterisk (*).

If you value this book list, please help us promote it and create more book lists.

Donate Today

10,000 Dresses*

By Marcus Ewert

By Barbara E. Barber

By Mary Hoffman, Caroline Binch (Illustrator)

By Cynthia Chin-Lee, Megan Halsey (Illustrator), Sean Addy (Illustrator)

By Stacy B. Davids

By Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Anne/Andy Passchier (Illustrator)

Calvin *

By Vanessa Ford, JR Ford, and Kayla Harren (Illustrator)

By Srividhya Venkat and Kavita Ramchandran (Illustrator)

By Andy Passchier

I Am Jazz *

By Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, and Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator)

By Belle DeMont

By Gavin Grimm, Kyle Lukoff, and J Yang (Illustrator)

By Theresa Thorn, Noah Grigni (Illustrator)

Jack (Not Jackie)*

By Erica Silverman

By Sarah and Ian Hoffman and Chris Case (Illustrator)

By Brian Pinkney

By Jessica Love

Julián Is a Mermaid*

By Jessica Love

By Jeannette Caines, Pat Cummings (Illustrator)

Kapaemahu *

By Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Daniel Sousa (Illustrator)

By Beah E. Richards, R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Man Up! *

By Riley Cambell, London Jones, Shirelle Hurt

By Wallace West

By Sam Donovan, Kristen Wixted, and Violet Tobacco (Illustrator)

My Rainbow *

By Deshanna Neal, Trinity Neal, and Art Twink (Illustrator)

My Shadow Is Purple *

By Scott Stuart

By Linda Trinh and Clayton Nguyen (Illustrator)

By Tomie dePaola

One of a Kind, Like Me/Unico Como Yo*

By Laurin Mayeno, Robert Liu-Trujillo (Artist)

By Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

By Sharee Miller

Sparkle Boy*

By Lesléa Newman

By Munro Leaf, Robert Lawson (Illustrator)

They She He Me: Free to Be!*

By Maya & Matthew Gonzalez

By Jerdine Nolen, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

By Ann Stott, Bob Graham (Illustrator)

When Aidan Became a Brother *

By Kyle Lukoff, Kaylani Juanita (Illustrator)

By Charlotte Zolotow, William Pene du Bois (Illustrator)

If you value this book list, please help us promote it and create more book lists.