LGBTQ+ Pride Month Resource Guide

Rainbow Book List from the American Library Association

The 2023 Rainbow Book List Committee is honored to announce this year’s list. Composed of over 190 books for young readers from birth to age 18, the 2023 list represents an array of diverse stories and identities representing the LGBTQIA+ youth experience in books published from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. 

The importance of this list (and others like it) cannot be understated, especially in a time when we are seeing a record number of efforts to ban both materials and support for LGBTQIA+ young people and their families. It is our hope that our efforts to identify appealing and high quality queer books for youth will help young people, librarians, educators, and caregivers of all kinds to connect our readers with information and stories that are critical to their well being and growth.

11 Most Banned Books of the Start of the 2022-2023 School Year [PEN America]

1. Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe
2. Flamer, by Mike Curato
3. Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins
4. The Handmaids Tale: The Graphic Novel, by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault
5. Crank (Crank Series), by Ellen Hopkins
6. Sold, by Patricia McCormick
7. Push, by Sapphire
8. A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas
9. This Book Is Gay, by Juno Dawson
10. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
11. Milk and Honey, by Rupi Kaur

View the full index of banned books, courtesy of PEN America

• Free Library braces for possible right-wing protest of Pride events [Philadelphia Gay News]
• How to Honor Pride Month Amid Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks [Anti-Racism Daily]
• Matt Baume on YouTube 
  • "I make videos about pop culture history from a queer perspective, exploring behind-the-scenes stories about movies and TV shows that changed the world, and the fascinating people who made them."