Parenting & Families

Five Amazing LGBTQ+ Books for Teens

Publishers, over the last decade, have increasingly invested in LGBTQ books for teens. There are so many stories out there now, and so many good ones. Choosing only five was almost impossible, until I decided to go with a few older books that have really stuck with me. So, here are five young LGBTQ books that live rent-free in my head and in my heart.

Five Picture Books to Help Parents Introduce LGBTQ Topics with Their Kids

"My Shadow is Pink" by Scott Stuart is about a little boy who likes things he "isn't supposed" to like, like dressing up and princesses. But his dad shows him that everyone has a shadow they sometimes want to hide, and that it's okay to like what we like.

I'm an adolescent mental health provider, here's what happens when a kid tells me they're trans

Sometimes I know before the first appointment. A parent may have been the one to reach out, to answer the question when I ask, “So, tell me what’s going on.” Maybe this is a family where the parents have already wondered about their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity (or both!). Perhaps the kid has already come out, to themselves, at school, at home, or nowhere. Sometimes it’s not on anyone’s radar - and anxiety, depression, trouble focusing, or other struggles are front and center.