Didn’t Make the Cut

Written By Paul Bouchey

Curious about the books I read but decided not to include? Here’s 12 books that didn’t make the list, because I found them problematic, too long, unfindable, or merely too general.

Featured
Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill
Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill

    • Plot Summary: When the heroic princess Amira rescues the kind-hearted princess Sadie from her tower prison, neither expects to find a true friend in the bargain. Yet as they adventure across the kingdom, they discover that they bring out the very best in the other person. They’ll need to join forces and use all the know-how, kindness, and bravery they have in order to defeat their greatest foe yet: a jealous sorceress, who wants to get rid of Sadie once and for all. Join Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, on their journey to figure out what “happily ever after” really means--and how they can find it with each other.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • This is a really cute graphic novel, about some lesbian princesses having adventures. Multi-racial AND plus-sized. Tragically, not a picture book.

Call Me Tree / Llamame Arbol by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Call Me Tree / Llamame Arbol by Maya Christina Gonzalez

    • Plot Summary: In this spare, lyrically written story, we join a child on a journey of self-discovery. Finding a way to grow from the inside out, just like a tree, the child develops as an individual comfortable in the natural world and in relationships with others. The child begins Within / The deep dark earth, like a seed, ready to grow and then dream and reach out to the world. Soon the child discovers birds and the sky and other children: Trees and trees / Just like me! Each is different too. The child embraces them all because All trees have roots/ All trees belong. Maya Christina Gonzalez once again combines her talents as an artist and a storyteller to craft a gentle, empowering story about belonging, connecting with nature, and becoming your fullest self. Young readers will be inspired to dream and reach, reach and dream . . . and to be as free and unique as trees.

    • Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA3BS_tPtwE

    • This is a very sweet, bilingual story about embracing all sorts of people. The story uses the metaphor of trees to represent diversity. This didn’t really have anything to do with LGBTQ specifically, only implicitly by including all people. But, you could easily use this book as a conversation starter about the different types of people (LGBTQ, disabled, mixed race, immigrant, everyone) out there--and what kind of trees they might make--that are valid and living life as themselves.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

    • Plot Summary: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride—or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia—the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion! Sebastian’s secret weapon (and best friend) is the brilliant dressmaker Frances—one of only two people who know the truth: sometimes this boy wears dresses. But Frances dreams of greatness, and being someone’s secret weapon means being a secret. Forever. How long can Frances defer her dreams to protect a friend? Jen Wang weaves an exuberantly romantic tale of identity, young love, art, and family. A fairy tale for any age, The Prince and the Dressmaker will steal your heart.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • This is a very neat graphic novel that features a drag queen prince and a clever dressmaker. Great story, not a picture book.

The Family Fletcher Series by Dana Alison Levy
The Family Fletcher Series by Dana Alison Levy

    • Plot Summary: The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes disastrous directions. And at home, their miserable new neighbor complains about everything. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • This a middle-grade reader with gay dads and a bunch of multiracial kids. Very cute and inclusive, but not a picture book at 274 pages

It’s Ok to be Different by Todd Parr
It’s Ok to be Different by Todd Parr

    • Plot Summary: It's okay to need some help. It's okay to be a different color. It's okay to talk about your feelings. From the bestselling author Todd Parr comes a reassuring book about being who you are. Told with Todd Parr's signature wit and wisdom, It's Okay to Be Different cleverly delivers the important messages of acceptance, understanding, and confidence in an accessible, child-friendly format. The book features the bold, bright colors and silly scenes that made Todd a premiere voice for emotional discussions in children's literature. Targeted to young children first beginning to read, this book will inspire kids to celebrate their individuality through acceptance of others and self-confidence--and it's never to early to develop a healthy self-esteem. It's Okay to be Different is designed to encourage early literacy, enhance emotional development, celebrate multiculturalism and diversity, and promote character growth.

    • Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrm4dC3Poe0

    • This is a cute book about diversity and acceptance but doesn’t really have anything to do with LGBTQ specifically, so I decided not to include it in my LGBTQ picture books list.

Except When They Don't  by Laura Gehl
Except When They Don't  by Laura Gehl

    • Plot Summary: This rhyming picture book encourages children to celebrate their individuality and lets them know that it's okay to play with whatever toys they want to! Girls perform to fairy songs. / Boys play football all day long. / Boys yell, "Boo!" and run away. / Girls like kittens and ballet. / Except when they don't. Children are often told by many different people about what toys they're supposed to play with, what interests they should have, and who they should be simply because of their gender. This stereotype-breaking book invites children to examine what they're told "boy" and "girl" activities are and encourages them to play with whatever they want to and to be exactly who they are!

    • Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4BaiTbaUYU

    • This book lays out gender norms--girls do x and boys do y--only to say “except when they don’t” Depending on where a child is, this acknowledgement of the gender norms that hold and then a countering can either make them think more critically OR confirm those norms. This is a book to scaffold carefully when reading to kids to make sure that the conclusions they draw are the inclusive conclusions intended.

King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
King & King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland

    • Plot summary: The Crown Kitty and Friends Cordially Invite You to Celebrate a Royal Wedding Reception to follow in the Royal Gardens Bring Lots of Presents

    • Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQrgWSMChuo

    • King and king follows a prince whose mother shows him a parade of princesses until finally one princess comes with her brother. The two princes fall in love and get married living happily ever after. I thought that the prince and queen’s reactions to the parade of princesses was slightly insulting and that the description of the only black princess was questionable (the text makes fun of her long arms). This book also falls into the immediate acceptance category.

King & King and Family by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
King & King and Family by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland

    • Plot summary: Join newlyweds King Lee and King Bertie on their journey into the noisy jungle. The kings are greeted by wild animal families, but the royal travelers suspect that something more significant awaits them in the trees. King & King soon discover that there's no adventure more wonderful than starting a family of their own. Jubilant sequel to Lambda Literary Award nominee KING & KING. Subtle clues on each page lead readers to a surprise ending.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • A sequel to King and King, where the protagonists go on an adventure and end up taking home a child. The ending here is quite controversial as many have commented that it reads like the kings are stealing the child and should have instead looked for her family (School library journal).

George by Alex Gino
George by Alex Gino

    • Plot Summary: When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she's not a boy. She knows she's a girl. George thinks she'll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte's Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can't even try out for the part . . . because she's a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte -- but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • A middle grade book about a trans girl who comes up with a scheme to come out in a way her community will accept. Not a picture book, but a highly acclaimed snapshot of a 10 year old trans girl’s life.

Yala & Sunnie meet Sam: a gender neutral story in a new age world by Vikki Watkin
Yala & Sunnie meet Sam: a gender neutral story in a new age world by Vikki Watkin

    • Plot Summary: Congratulations on choosing this book. You are about to meet some very interesting characters. The aim of this book is to raise questions and encourage conversation regarding some different ways of contending with racism, bullying, gender identity, friendships and social class issues among children and their families.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • As this book just came out December 2019, I can’t find any information on the plot of this book other than the blurb above from the back cover, but I’m hoping for some gender neutral adventures.

Ballet Boy by Anfaney Gladwin
Ballet Boy by Anfaney Gladwin

    • Plot Summary: This uplifting story follows Mitchell to third grade when he becomes a ballet danseur. He is under attack by his peers for choosing to do ballet.

    • Youtube link: N/A

    • This is the story of a boy that gets teased for wanting to dance, particularly by his anti-ballet dad. I have the same problem with this as I have with The Only Boy in Ballet Class; I don’t love the message that it is weird for boys to dance, even if Mitchell succeeds in the end.

Lovely by Jess Hong
Lovely by Jess Hong

    • Plot Summary: Big, small, curly, straight, loud, quiet, smooth, wrinkly. Lovely explores a world of differences that all add up to the same thing: we are all lovely!

    • Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxCpnE6mc0U

    • This book has incidental depictions of cross-dressing people and some poeple who could be gay? Mostly, the point of this book is to represent diversity of all kinds with simple text and inclusive pictures.

Paul Bouchey
Previous

Coming Out Soon!