Recommended Reads

A resource for Parents, Carers & Teachers

Books for Parents, Carers & Teachers

We list below some books about the parenting experience which parents & carers have told us they found useful, some children’s books that might be useful for parents or teachers, and other recommended LGBT+ related reads. 
 
Some of the stories for children have the issue of ‘difference’ as a focus, whilst in others the fact of being in a slightly different family is incidental to the main plot. All the books reinforce the important message that whoever you are and in whatever type of loving family you live – it is all okay! Most books are available on Amazon, but there is also a selection of other interesting web sites at the end of the list will bring many more ideas.
For Parents & Carers
For Children
Other recommended reads
Useful websites

Books for Parents & Carers

Is it a choice?

Author: Eric Marcus
ISBN:-13 ‎ 978-0061745287

Answers to 300 of the most frequently asked questions about lesbians and gays’

Excellent book which answers all the questions you might like to ask but are fearful of offending. Candid and informative, this book will do much to demystify homosexuality

Beyond Acceptance

Author: Carolyn Welch Griffin
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312167813

This has had wonderful reviews in the States. The book covers a whole host of issues including what can be learned from books, changing inner perceptions and dealing with the rest of the family

My child is gay

Author: B. McDougall.
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1864486582

An interesting insight in to the wide range of reactions from parents.

Now that you know

Author: Betty Fairchild
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0156006057

Written by two mothers of gay children Now That You Know discusses the nature of homosexuality, counsels parents to respond supportively to gay children, and brings families together by maintaining the bonds of acceptance and affirmation.

Stranger in the Family

Author: Terry Sanderson
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0948982088

An interesting insight in to the wide range of reactions from parents.

Family Outing

Author: Joy Dickens
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0720609615

An interesting insight in to the wide range of reactions from parents.

The Family Heart

Author: Robb Forman Dew
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345394088

Dew has something important to say to every parent, every child and every family Celebrate difference, diversity, acceptance and the whole range of family structures.

It is important that young children develop an understanding and acceptance of same­sex relationships. This is even more important if you have a lesbian, gay or bi member in your family. Introduce children to the idea of loving same­sex relationships at the earliest age before they encounter negative stereotypes.  

The books listed below all deal tenderly and warmly with the notion of love as natural and beautiful in whatever form it takes and that it is ‘OK to be different.

Books for Children

It's Ok to be different

Author: Todd Par
ISBN 978-0-316-04347-2

A bright picture book with simple text that celebrates difference and makes us laugh.

We're different, We're the same

Bobbi Jane Kates
ISBN 978-0-679-83227-0

Sesame Street characters show us how we are different but also the same and we are all wonderful.

The Family Book

Todd Parr
ISBN 978-0-316-07040-9

A picture book with simple text, celebrating different families with fun and laughter.

The great big book of families

Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith
ISBN 978-1-84507-999-4

A book looking at all types of families and how people live in different ways. The illustrations are full of fun and provide many talking points to complement the text.

Who's in a family

Robert Skutch
ISBN 978-1-883672-66-9

Who’s in a family? The people who love you the most! Chances are your family is like no one else’s and that’s just fine.

We belong together

Todd parr
ISBN 978-0-316-01668-1

A first book looking at adoption and families, with bright colours, fun illustrations and a message of belonging and love.

A mother for Choco

Keiko Kasza
ISBN 978-0-698-11364-0
Choco is a bright yellow bird with stripey legs and he is searching for a Mum who looks just like him. Eventually Choco finds a kind and loving Mum who is everything he needs – and she doesn’t look a bit like him!  This is a lovely little story with a happy ending.
 
 

If i had a hundred mummies

Vanda Carter
ISBN978-0-906500-91-0
This is a funny book about a child wondering what it would be like to have a 100 Mummies. After a range of madcap ideas, she decides that maybe she would be better off sticking with the two she already has!

Josh & Jaz have three mums

Hedi Argent
ISBN 190566412-2
A great book from the British Association of Adoption and Fostering.
 
A lovely story that encourages an understanding of adoption and   reinforces that families come in all shapes and sizes and that’s okay!

Mom and Mom are getting married

Ken Setterington
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1896764849
When Rosie finds out that her two mothers are planning to get married, she has only one worry…. Will she get to be a flower girl? A simple but happy story of love and celebration.

In our Mother's house

Patricia Polacco
ISBN 978-0-399-25076-7
This is a beautiful and uplifting story of growing up in a house filled with love. It is possibly best suited for older children, partly because of the complexity of the text with American vocabulary and phrasing, but also because the story takes us through the whole of life with the two wonderful mothers, including touching briefly on their ageing and death (when the children are grown up and married with babies of their own). The illustrations are joyful and capture the happiness of a loving family perfectly!

King & King

Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland
ISBN 978-1-58246-061-1
Lots of Princesses would like to marry the Prince and the King and Queen would like this too, as they want a rest from palace duties. Will the Prince choose one of the Princesses or will he follow his heart? This is a charming variation on the traditional, although the illustrations are a little disappointing. Nonetheless, a story with a happy ending, celebrating difference.

King & King & Family

Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland
ISBN 1-58246-113-9
The sequel to ‘King and King’ – the Kings go off on honeymoon and see lots of animals in the jungle, many with babies. The Kings wish they had a family and their wish is granted when they discover a stowaway on their return home!

And Tango makes Three

Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
ISBN978-1-84738-148-4
Based on a true story of two male penguins in Central Park Zoo who are devoted to each other and try to hatch a stone. Their keeper gives them an egg to hatch and Tango arrives. Tango is the first penguin in the zoo to have two Daddies, and what great parents they prove to be. Only a heart of stone could fail to be moved by this lovely story! The illustrations are great too.

Dad David, Baba Chris and Me

Ed Merchant
ISBN 978-1-905664-89-4
Another book from the British Association of Adoption and Fostering. Eight year old Ben lives with his two Dads and is very happy until some children at school start being unkind because his family is different. Ben just wants to be ‘ordinary’. With help from his teacher and his Dads, Ben learns that we are all different, both ordinary and special at the same time and settles down into his loving family and spends time with his good friends at school.

Red: A Crayon's Story

Michael Hall
ISBN 9780062252074
Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. Although his mother and teacher try to help him be red, he is miserable. Finally, a brand new friend offers a brand new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He’s blue! This is a funny, heartwarming, colourful picture book for young children about finding the courage to be true to your inner self and can be read on multiple levels.

The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans

Johnny Valentine
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1555838478

Five very different fairy tales, all including gay or lesbian parents in some context.

Other Recommended Reads

The Velvet Rage

Alan Downs
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0738215679

This book outlines three distinct stages to emotional well­being for gay men.

The Cat Sanctuary

Patrick Gale
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007307685

“Friendly Fire” is an intense tale of love, life, intellectualism and passion. Inspirational.’ Daily Express

‘Gale’s finely tuned rites of passage novel depicts a learning curve of betrayal and shame.’ Metro

‘Gale delicately shows that what shames people in this context isn’t truly shameful – just very private.’TLS

‘Gale has written a classic story of subversion from within which remains reassuringly old-fashioned throughout.’ Sunday Times

The Line of Beauty

Alan Hollinghurst
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330483216

An interesting insight in to the wide range of reactions from parents.

The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans

Johnny Valentine
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1555838478

Five very different fairy tales, all including gay or lesbian parents in some context.

Trans: A Memoir

Juliet Jacques
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784781644

Adapted from her Guardian column ‘A Transgender Journey’, Juliet documents her own transition, with flashbacks to how she felt in her youth, coming out and the present day. This straightforward and engaging account is interspersed with information about trans histories, experiences and identities which make it an informative read for parents.

Trans Like Me

CN Lester
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349008608

CN gives a really thorough study of trans issues and what gender means for all of us. This is a thoughtful and thought provoking book that can really help you to challenge your assumptions, explore issues and think clearly about gender and society. CN also gives insights into their own life and experiences. Highly recommended.

The Gender Games

Juno Dawson
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1473648586

Sometimes lighthearted and irreverent in tone, this book examines how gender affects all our lives. Subtitled ‘The problem with men and women from someone who has been both’, in this book Juno tells us about her own life and journey to transition with frank anecdotes that will make you laugh out loud. But you’ll also learn about serious issues faced by the trans community and by all of us.

The Transgender Issue

Shon Faye
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241423141

Trans people in Britain today have become a culture war ‘issue’. Despite making up less than one per cent of the country’s population, they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized ‘debate’ which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals a simple fact: that we are having the wrong conversation, a conversation in which trans people themselves are reduced to a talking point and denied a meaningful voice.

In this powerful new book, Shon Faye reclaims the idea of the ‘transgender issue’ to uncover the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In doing so, she provides a compelling, wide-ranging analysis of trans lives from youth to old age, exploring work, family, housing, healthcare, the prison system and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, in contemporary Britain and beyond.

The Transgender Issue is a landmark work that signals the beginning of a new, healthier conversation about trans life. It is a manifesto for change, and a call for justice and solidarity between all marginalized people and minorities. Trans liberation, as Faye sees it, goes to the root of what our society is and what it could be; it offers the possibility of a more just, free and joyful world for all of us.

Useful Websites

Useful Websites

Gays the Word bookshop is in process of developing a new website, but the main shop in London can be found on the internet.

‘It’s Child’s Play’ (Challenging Gender stereotypes through Reading) is a good source of material around difference and is produced by the National Union of Teachers.

www.teachers.org.uk/educationandequalities/breakingthemould

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