The LGBTQ-inclusive picture and chapter books of 2025 have been joyous, affirming, sometimes hilarious and often beautiful. Here are some that stand out. (Author[s] and illustrator [if different] follow each title.)
Board books with queer representation include three affirming odes from parents to children: Baby, You’re a Rainbow (Sophie Beer); You’re Fabulous As You Are (Sophie Beer), and You Are My Rainbow (Michael Joosten, Monge Lua). Additionally, We’re All in This Together highlights community and caring (Ernie Young, Sarah Walsh), and Little Feminists: Becoming Siblings celebrates many types of families (Shuli de la Fuente-Lau).
For early readers, try the friendship-focused Whale and the Birthday Rocks (Whale, Quail, Snail #4) (Erica Perl, Sam Ailey), which includes the nonbinary Snail.
Chapter books saw the start of two new series: Witchycakes, about a nonbinary witch who helps at their Mama’s bakery (Kara LaReau, Ariane Moreira; two volumes published), and Bucket and Friends, about a nonbinary child and friends making change in their community (Tom Rademacher, Esther Hernando, four volumes published).
Several existing series added sequels, including Ella Josephine: Resident in Charge, about a girl with two moms and their apartment-house neighbors (Nina LaCour, Sonia Albert); the graphic novel Batcat: Cooking Contest! with adorable nonbinary protagonists (Meggie Ramm), and the delightfully silly How to Win the Gruesome Games (Villains Academy), about a young werewolf with two dads who is learning to be bad (though not really) (Ryan Hammond).
Several books feature two-mom families without being “about” queerness: Far, Far AWAY about a boy and his moms on a canoe trip (Molly Beth Griffin, Bao Luu); Embarrassed Ferret, in which the protagonist amusingly overcomes awkward moments (Lisa Frenkel Riddiough, Andrea Tsurumi), and The Pirate Moms, a rollicking high-seas tale (Jodie Lancet-Grant, Lydia Corry).
The same was true for some titles featuring queer-dad families: Papa’s Coming Home, in which a family welcomes a dad’s return (Chasten Buttigieg, Dan Taylor); Night Flight, an evocative bedtime story (David Barclay Moore, Briana Mukodiri Uchendu), and Mai’s Áo Dài, about embracing both heritage and individuality (Thai Nguyen and Monique Truong, Dung Ho).
Additionally, My Dad Is the Best pokes gentle fun at masculine posturing within a blended two-dad family (Fran Pintadera, Joan Turu); Like That Eleanor stars a girl with two dads becoming an ally to a nonbinary classmate (Lee Wind, Karl West); The Gathering Table tells of a Black family’s traditions and milestones, including the wedding of the narrator’s uncles (Antwan Eady, London Ladd), and O.K. Is Gay: A Picture Book features a boy who finds support (and surprising understanding) from his friends as he seeks to tell them about his new relationship (Vincent X. Kirsch).
Books with nonbinary protagonists felt particularly thoughtful, with Call Me Gray, a tender tale about a nonbinary child and their father (Andrew and Bells Larsen, Tallulah Fontaine); Dancing with Water, an evocative story of heritage and caring for the Earth (Gwendolyn Wallace, Tonya Engel), and Snow Kid, a lovely fable about personal growth (Jessie Sima).
Biographies this year feature writers: Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer (Quartez Harris, Gordon C. James); Outside In and the Inside Out: A Story About Arnold Lobel (Emmy Kastner) and Mary Oliver, Holding On to Wonder (Erin Frankel, Jasu Hu); entertainers: Billy Porter: A Little Golden Book Biography (Phil Stamper, Steffi Walthall); Chappell Roan: A Little Golden Book Biography (Cat Reynolds, Maria Lia Malandrino) and Spotlight on Cynthia Erivo (Elizabeth Dennis and Hunter M. Green, Ruth Burrows); advocates: Edie for Equality: Edie Windsor Stands Up for Love (Michael Genhart, Cheryl Thuesday) and One Day in June: A Story Inspired by the Life and Activism of Marsha P. Johnson (Tourmaline, Charlot Kristensen); a fashion editor: André: André Leon Talley — A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale (Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders, Lamont O’Neal), and an astronaut: I Am Sally Ride (Brad Meltzer, Christopher Eliopoulos).
And Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped is an “anti-biography” of sorts about an intriguing piece of LGBTQ+ history (Kyle Lukoff, Levi Hastings).
On a nonfiction note, My Gender, My Rules will help kids and their adults have important conversations about gender and feelings (Andy Passchier), while The Bi Book is an ode to “bi” things like bicycles, bilingual people and bisexuality, “Because bi hearts love in a rainbow of ways” (A.J. Irving, Cynthia Alonso).
Books about gender expression this year include So Devin Wore a Skirt, a sweet story of unconditional family love (Shireen Lalji, Lucy Fleming); Raven’s Ribbons about a gender creative (possibly Two-Spirit) indigenous child finding affirmation in family and community (Tasha Spillett, Daniel Ramirez); I Want to Dance in Pants about a girl who doesn’t want to wear a dress for her quinceañera (Jess and Ruymán Hernandez, Teresa Martinez), and Make Your Own Rainbow: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Colors, an ode to color and creativity (Lil Miss Hot Mess, Olga de Dios).
Finally, for the holidays, try: Fa La La Family, a cheery rhyming book about how Christmas is for families of all kinds (Scott and Mark Hoying, Steph Lew), and Banana Menorah in which a girl with two dads finds a creative solution to a forgotten Hanukkah menorah (Lee Wind, Karl West).
For full reviews and even more titles I didn’t have room for here, visit my Database of LGBTQ Family Books (mombian.com/database).
Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a two-time GLAAD Media Award-winning blog for LGBTQ parents plus a searchable database of 1,900+ LGBTQ family books.