The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association have released the 2010 Rainbow Project Bibliography of recommended titles for youth from birth to age 18 that contain significant and authentic gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (GLBTQ) content. The third bibliography from the ALA Rainbow Project represents the increasing range of GLBTQ titles for youth from board books to titles published for adults with appeal to teen readers. Books published between July 2008 and October 2009 were considered for inclusion in the final selection.<\/p>\n
Of the 46 recommended titles, four stood out to the selection jury for their impact on the body of GLBTQ literature of interest for youth: How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity<\/em>, edited by Michael Cart (HarperTeen); Ash<\/em>, by Malinda Lo (Little, Brown); Into the Beautiful North<\/em>, by Luis Alberto Urrea (Little, Brown); Finlater, <\/em>by Shawn Stewart Ruff (Quote Editions). In addition, the group commended the groundbreaking pair of complementary board books from Lesl?a Newman, Daddy, Papa, and Me<\/em> and Mommy, Mama, and Me<\/em> (Tricycle Press\/Ten Speed).<\/p>\n Although a wealth of timely nonfiction has been published for youth during the past 18 months, Project members perceived a noticeable void in the area of GLBTQ nonfiction, including history and memoirs. Lack of subject headings that lead to GLBTQ content may have been a factor in Project members not finding eligible books until after the nomination deadline, for example Eon: Dragoneye Reborn <\/em> by Alison Goodman (Viking, December 2008).<\/p>\n The 2009-2010 ALA Rainbow Project jury consisted of John Andrews, Chair-elect (Washoe County Library System, Reno, NV); Michael Cart; Lynn Evarts (Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI); K.T. Horning (Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI); Arla Jones (Lawrence High School, Lawrence, KS); Michael Santangelo (Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY); <\/strong>Victor Schill (Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX); Laurie Spurling (Denver Public Library, Denver, CO); and Nel Ward, Chair.<\/p>\n An entry beginning with an asterisk (*) indicates the book was found to be exceptional and highly recommended.<\/em><\/p>\n Alsenas, Linas. Hello My Name Is Bob<\/em><\/a>. 2009. unp. Scholastic, $16.99.\u00a0 (9780545052443). Gr. PreK-2. Bob, a self described boring bear, begins comparing his own life to that of his adventurous Penguin friend Jack but soon realizes that it is okay to be different.<\/p>\n * Newman, Lesl?a. Daddy, Papa, and Me<\/a>.<\/em> Il. Carol Thompson. 2008 (Dec.). unp. Tricycle Press\/Ten Speed, $7.99\u00a0 (9781582462622). Gr. Pre-K., and Mommy, Mama, and Me<\/a>. <\/em>Il. Carol Thompson. 2008 (Dec.). unp. Tricycle Press\/Ten Speed, $7.99\u00a0 (9781582462639). Gr. Pre-K. Same-sex parents use loving family activities to teach and play with their child in these “board books.”<\/p>\n Polacco, Patricia. In Our Mothers’ House<\/em><\/a>. 2009. unp. Philomel, $17.99. (9780399250767). Gr. K-3. Although Marmee , Meema, and their three kids have a happy home life with many similarities to their neighbor’s experiences – dinnertime, fooling around, getting ready for parties – some in their community can see only the differences that this family has.<\/p>\n Rickards, Lynne. Pink!<\/em><\/a> Il. Margaret Chamberlain. 2009. unp. Chicken House\/Scholastic, $16.99. (9780545086080). Gr. PreK-2. Tired of rejection, Patrick the pink penguin tries unsuccessfully to live with the flamingos before he returns home to acceptance.<\/p>\n Van de Vendel, Edward. For You and No One Else<\/em><\/a>. Il. Martijn van der Linden. 2009. unp. Lemniscaat\/Boyds Mills Press, $16.95. (9781590786581). Gr. PreK-2. Although Buck is crushed when his friend Sparklehart woos all the does with the seven-leaf clover that Buck gives him, he soon cheers up when he finds an even better gift and the courage to tell Sparklehart that this gift is “for you and no one else!”<\/p>\n Winter, Jonah. Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude<\/em><\/a>. Il. Calef Brown. 2009. unp. Atheneum\/Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (9781416940883). Gr. PreK-3. In the early twentieth century, the Paris salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas is host to frequent prominent guests, including Picasso and Matisse.<\/p>\n Burd, Nick. The Vast Fields of Ordinary<\/em><\/a>.?2009. 309p.?Dial\/Penguin,\u00a0$16.99. (9780803733404) Gr. 9+. During his last summer before college, Dade juggles his divorcing parents and dysfunctional closeted boyfriend until he meets Alex and gains the courage to declare his sexuality.<\/p>\n Carter, Timothy. Evil?<\/em><\/a> 2009. 256p. Flux\/Llewellyn, $9.95. (9780738715391). Gr. 9+. Being gay and summoning demons don’t provide Stuart with any problem in his small, conservative Canadian town, but everyone gets caught up in an anti-masturbation crusade when Stuart commits the sin of Onan.<\/p>\n Collins, Pat Lowery. Hidden Voices: The Orphan Musicians of Venice<\/a>. <\/em>2009. 345p. Candlewick, $17.99. (9780763639174). Gr. 7+. In a 1700s Venetian orphanage famous for its musical training, teenage Anetta suffers from her unrequited love for the ethereal Luisa.<\/p>\n Crutcher, Chris. Angry Management<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 246p. Greenwillow\/HarperCollins, $16.99.\u00a0 (9780060502478). Gr. 7+. Anger and rage, both internal and external, provide the common thread for three stories dealing with high school injustice–being black, gay, overweight, or simply a high school student.<\/p>\n Ehrenberg, Pamela. Tillmon County Fire<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 175p. Eerdmans, $9.00 (9780802853455). Gr. 7+. Eight teens give their perspectives about an anti-gay hate crime that ignites fear, homophobia, grief, and loss.<\/p>\n Frazer, Megan. Secrets of Truth & Beauty<\/a>. <\/em>2009. 347p. Disney\/Hyperion, $15.99. (9781423117117). Gr. 9+. At age seven, Dara was a darling pageant winner; at 17, she has gained too much weight and anger, leading her to discover her runaway sister on a farm commune for lesbians and others rejected by their families, including a gay high school senior.<\/p>\n Garsee, Jeannine. Say the Word<\/a>.<\/em> 2009. 360p. Bloomsbury, $16.99. (9781599903330). Gr. 9+. The “perfect” Shawna Gallagher finds her life turned upside down when she turns 17, her estranged lesbian mother dies, and she discovers a family in the mother’s partner and two sons, a family that her controlling father tries to destroy.<\/p>\n Going, K.L. King of the Screwups<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 310p.\u00a0 Harcourt\/Houghton Mifflin, $17.00. (9780152062583). Gr. 7+. When Liam Geller screws up once too often, his father throws him out of the house, and Liam finds his true self when he goes to live with his father’s brother, “Aunt” Pete, a gay glam-rocker disc jockey living in a trailer in upstate New York.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez, Rigoberto.\u00a0 The Mariposa Club<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0 216p.\u00a0 Alyson, $14.95.\u00a0 (9781593501068).\u00a0 Gr. 8+.\u00a0 During their senior year, the Fierce Foursome\u2014Maui, Trini, Isaac, and Lib\u2014decide to leave their legacy by creating their high school\u2019s first LGBT organization, an action that brings out both support and opposition from their families and their community.<\/p>\n Hopkins, Ellen,\u00a0 Tricks<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0627p. \u00a0Margaret K. McElderry\/Simon & Schuster, $18.99. (9781416950073). Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Five teens find themselves selling their bodies in Las Vegas due to circumstances and decisions, both within and well beyond their control.<\/p>\n * How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Ed. Michael Cart.\u00a0 2009. 350p.\u00a0 HarperTeen\/HarperCollins, $16.99. \u00a0(9780061154980). Gr. 9+. The tales in this collection present not only the variety of identities in the LGBTQ community\u2014transgendered, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, and gay\u2014but also the variety of experiences of being human\u2014love, regret, betrayal, discovery. (Note: As an ALA Rainbow Project committee member, Michael Cart recused himself from all discussion.)<\/p>\n Hurwin, Davida Wills.\u00a0 Freaks and Revelations<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0234p. Little, Brown\/Hachette Group, 16.99. (9780316049962).\u00a0 Gr. 10+.\u00a0 Actual events inspired this narrative of two teens\u2014Jason, a gay thirteen-year-old surviving on the streets after being rejected by his family, and Doug, a seventeen-year-old skinhead punk rocker\u2014as their lives intersect in a violent hate crime that forever changes them.<\/p>\n Katcher, Brian. Almost Perfect<\/em><\/a>. \u00a02009. \u00a0360p. Delacorte\/Random House, $17.99. \u00a0(9780385736640). \u00a0Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Beautiful newcomer Sage is perfect for Logan until he discovers that she is transgendered.<\/p>\n Ketchum, Liza. Newsgirl<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 327p. Viking\/Penguin, $17.99. \u00a0(9780670011193). \u00a0Gr. 5-8.\u00a0 When ambitious and strong-willed Amelia moves to San Francisco in 1851 with her two mothers, she must masquerade as a boy to realize her dream of first hawking newspapers and then working as a reporter.<\/p>\n Levithan, David. Love Is the Higher Law<\/a>.<\/em> 2009. 167p.\u00a0 Knopf\/Random House, $15.99. (9780375834684).\u00a0 Gr. 8+.\u00a0 Three teenage New Yorkers–Claire, Peter, and Jasper–searching for the meaning of the 9\/11 bombing find it in new friendships and the emerging romantic relationship between the two boys.<\/p>\n * Lo, Malinda. Ash<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 264p. Little Brown\/Hachette Book Group, $16.99. (9780316040099). Gr. 8+.\u00a0 Torn between her emerging love for the King\u2019s mysterious huntress and the ethereal draw of the world of the fairies, Ash discovers the strength of her own identity.<\/p>\n Marino, Peter.\u00a0 Magic and Misery<\/a>.<\/em> 2009.\u00a0 293p.\u00a0 Holiday House, $17.95.\u00a0 (9780823421336). Gr. 8+.\u00a0 With frank discussions of relationships and sex, heterosexual and homosexual, Toni Jo, who befriends new student Pan (short for Pansy) in the hopes that he will be her boyfriend, gives a humorous portrayal of high school life.<\/p>\n Park, Judith.\u00a0 YSquare Plus<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2008 (Dec.).\u00a0 183p.\u00a0 Yen Press\/Hachette Group, $10.99.\u00a0 (9780759529274). Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Yagate has his heart set on Ra-Myun, the man of his dreams, but when he discovers that Chana does too, he turns to his friend Yoshitaka to help him win Ra-Myun\u2019s affections.<\/p>\n Peck, Dale. Sprout, or My Salad Days, When I Was Green in Judgment<\/a>. <\/em>2009. 277p. Bloomsbury, $16.99. (9781599901602). Gr. 7-10.\u00a0 It\u2019s not easy having green hair in conservative Kansas, but teenage Sprout manages while also prepping for the Kansas State Essay Contest and falling in love with the intriguing new boy in school.<\/p>\n Peters, Julie Anne. Rage: A Love Story<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 293p. Knopf\/Random House, $16.99. (9780375852091). Gr. 10+.\u00a0 When the wildly divergent lives of Johanna and Reeves collide, all the Romantic, Alluring, Gorgeous, and Exciting expectations turn to painful RAGE.<\/p>\n Polito, Frank Anthony. Drama Queers!<\/em><\/a> 2009. 416 p. Kensington, $15.00. (9780758231642). Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Julliard, thespians, homecoming, and a certain gorgeous football player all come together as \u201cBand Fag\u201d Bradley Dayton is out to make his senior year his most exciting ever\u2014even if his best friend Jack won\u2019t admit that he, too, is gay.<\/p>\n Rapp, Adam.\u00a0 Punkzilla<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0 244p.\u00a0 Candlewick, $16.99.\u00a0 (9780763630317). Gr. 8+.\u00a0 Fourteen-year-old Jamie (aka Punkzilla)–AWOL from military school–embarks on a cross-country odyssey to find his older brother, a dying gay playwright, and share with him his journal of his sometimes frightening, sometimes heartwarming adventures along the way.<\/p>\n Roth, Matthue.\u00a0 Losers<\/a>.<\/em> 2008 (Oct.).\u00a0 186p. Push\/Scholastic, $8.99. (9780545068932).\u00a0Gr. 8-10.\u00a0 Russian immigrant and freshman Jupiter navigates the high school social world and works to improve his popularity while trying to connect with the cute girl at the record store and finding an unexpected friend in the school\u2019s closeted bully.<\/p>\n Ruff, Shawn Stewart. Finlater<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2008 (Jul.). 292p. Quote Editions, $15.50 (9781604023954).\u00a0 Gr. 10+.\u00a0 This deeply affecting and openly sexual story of two boys in love\u2014Cliffy Douglas and Noah Baumgarten\u2014plays out among the disparities of home life and background during the 1970s homophobia and racial tension.<\/p>\n Ryan, P. E.\u00a0 In Mike We Trust<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 321p.\u00a0 HarperTeen, $16.99.\u00a0 (9780060858131). Gr. 7-10.\u00a0 Garth finds the confidence to come out to his mother when wheeling-and-dealing Uncle Mike, his late father\u2019s identical twin, moves in and puts him to work as a budding con man.<\/p>\n Sanchez, Alex. Bait<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0239p. Simon & Schuster, $16.99. \u00a0(9781416937722). Gr. 7+.\u00a0 Sexually abused San Diego teenager Diego, in trouble for his violent temper, finds understanding and reasons for self-acceptance in the wise and caring counsel of his gay parole officer Mr. Vidas.<\/p>\n Satyal, Rakesh.\u00a0 Blue Boy<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009. 276p. Kensington, $15.00 (9780758231369).\u00a0 Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Can Kiran Sharma, a sexually confused twelve-year-old Indian American boy who secretly puts on his mother\u2019s make-up, plays with dolls, and practices ballet, really be the reincarnation of the gender-bending Hindu god Krishna?<\/p>\n Stevenson, Robin.\u00a0 Inferno<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0 229p.\u00a0 Orca, $12.95.\u00a0 (9781554690770). Gr. 9+.\u00a0 When Dante meets Parker, she thinks that she has found a soul mate but is instead drawn into a dangerous and destructive relationship.<\/p>\n * Urrea, Luis Alberto.\u00a0 Into the Beautiful North<\/a>. <\/em>2009.\u00a0 342p.\u00a0 Little, Brown, $24.99.\u00a0 (9780316025270).\u00a0 Gr. 9+.\u00a0 When all the young men and fathers leave the bucolic Sinaloa village of\u00a0 Tres Camarones to find jobs in the United States, three young women and their gay friend Tacho sneak across the border to recruit seven police officers and soldiers (the Magnificent Seven!)\u00a0who will return home and rescue them from the drug-dealing banditos who threaten their good life.<\/p>\n Walliams, David. The Boy in the Dress<\/em><\/a>. Il. Quentin Blake. 2009.\u00a0 231p.\u00a0 Razorbill\/Penguin, $15.99. \u00a0(9781595142993). Gr. 3-6. Dennis finds his family, friends, and townspeople initially resistant to his desire to wear dresses, but they become his biggest fans on and off the soccer field.<\/p>\n Whatling, Michael. A Vigil for Joe Rose: Stories of Being Out in High School<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 201p. iUniverse, $15.95. (9781440178559). Gr. 9+. \u00a0The fictional notebooks belonging to Joe Rose, a young gay man killed in 1989 by a gang of hateful young men, is the thread that stitches together the\u00a0stories of seven out gay high school students in Montreal.<\/p>\n Bechdel, Alison.\u00a0 The Essential Dykes to Watch Out for<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2008 (Nov.).\u00a0 392p.\u00a0 Houghton Mifflin, $25.00. \u00a0(978-0-618-96880-0).\u00a0 Gr. 10+. \u00a0With the help of her extended family Mo, a neurotic lesbian, makes her way from youth to middle age through the countercultural adventures selected from comic strips published during the past 25 years.<\/p>\n Crisis:\u00a0 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America<\/a>.<\/em> Ed. Mitchell Gold with Mindy Drucker.\u00a0 2008 (Sept.).\u00a0 369p.\u00a0 Greenleaf Book Group Press, $23.95.\u00a0 (9781929774104).\u00a0 Gr. 9+.\u00a0 Stories of coming out and finding acceptance from 40 Americans\u2014many of them activists and politicians\u2014show that attitude, not homosexuality\u2014is the problem in our society.<\/p>\n Drummond, Mara Christine.\u00a0 Transitions:\u00a0 A Guide to Transitioning for Transsexuals and Their Families<\/a>.<\/em> 2009.\u00a0 127p.\u00a0 Lulu.com, $16.50.\u00a0 (9780557052615).\u00a0 Gr. 10+.\u00a0 These practical, accessible definitions and descriptions of incongruent gender identity as well as the emotional, financial and physical implications of transitioning show the journey that transgendered people take.<\/p>\n Ginoli, Jon. Deflowered: My Life in the Pansy Division<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 300p. Cleis Press, $16.95. (9781573443432). Gr. 10+.\u00a0 As a founding member of the Pansy Divison, the first out punk band to make it on the national scene, the author describes his coming-out experience and adventures in the homophobic music industry.<\/p>\n Hart, Melissa. Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood<\/em><\/a>. 2009. 276p. Seal Press, $16.95. (9781580052948). Gr. 8+.\u00a0 Hart’s memoir shares her freedom ride as a young White girl who shifts between living with an angry well-to-do father, who has custody of her, and a homosexual mother, who seeks to belong to the Latino culture in 1970s Southern California.<\/p>\n Milk:\u00a0 A Pictorial History of Harvey Milk<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 Int. Dustin Lance Black; Fwd. Armistead Maupin.\u00a0 2009.\u00a0 144p.\u00a0 Newmarket Press, $29.95. (9781557048295); pbk $19.95. (9781557048288). Gr. 8+.\u00a0 This illustrated companion book to the film Milk<\/em> features archival materials about the life and murder of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay American to be voted into a major public office in the United States.<\/p>\nRainbow Book List<\/h2>\n
Picture Books<\/h3>\n
Fiction<\/h3>\n
Non-Fiction<\/h3>\n