Children's Books

By: James Klise (Author), 2023, Hardcover

From an Edgar Award-winning author, this historical noir novel follows the life-changing summer of sixteen-year-old Joe Garbe as he discovers queer community in 1930s Chicago and gets caught up in the city's crooked underbelly.
 
In the summer of 1934, Joe Garbe arrives in Chicago with one goal: Earn enough money to get out of debt and save the family farm. Joe’s cousin sets him up with a hotel job, then proposes a sketchy scheme to make a lot more money fast. While running his con, Joe finds himself splitting time between Eddie, a handsome flirt on a delivery truck, and Raymond, a carefree rich kid who shows Joe the eye-opening queer life around every corner of the big city.
 
Joe’s exposure to the surface of criminal Chicago pulls him into something darker than he could have imagined. When danger closes in—from gangsters, the police, and people he thought were friends—Joe needs to pack up and get lost. But before he can figure out where to go, he has to decide who he wants to be.
 
I’ll Take Everything You Have is a vivid portrayal of queer coming of age in Depression-era Chicago, and a timeless story of trying to make your future bright when the rest of the world is dead set on keeping it hidden in the dark.

By: Nicole Melleby (Author), 2024, Paperback

Book 3 of 3: The House on Sunrise Lagoon Series

Return to Sunrise Lagoon in this warmhearted sequel, which finds anxious middle child Marina making waves on her journey to trusting herself.

If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water.

Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle.

Three, she's pretty certain she's the Extra Ali-O'Connor kid—the forgotten one.

When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina's age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina's quest to become someone's favorite Ali-O'Connor would make a perfect documentary. But when each plan goes a little bit wrong, Marina begins to wonder if she'll ever feel like she belongs, or if she'll always be lost in the middle.

By: Nicole Melleby (Author), 2023, Paperback

Book 2 of 3: The House on Sunrise Lagoon

Return to Sunrise Lagoon in this warmhearted sequel, which finds anxious middle child Marina making waves on her journey to trusting herself.

If you want to get to know Marina Ali-O'Connor, you need to know three things:

One, despite her name, Marina is secretly afraid of the water.

Two, she wanted to be one of the Oldest Siblings, but is stuck smack dab in the middle.

Three, she's pretty certain she's the Extra Ali-O'Connor kid—the forgotten one.

When Boom, a budding filmmaker exactly Marina's age, moves in across the lagoon, she decides that Marina's quest to become someone's favorite Ali-O'Connor would make a perfect documentary. But when each plan goes a little bit wrong, Marina begins to wonder if she'll ever feel like she belongs, or if she'll always be lost in the middle.

By: Marika McCoola (Author), Aatmaja Pandya (Illustrator), 2022, Paperback

An emotional LGBTQ coming-of-age graphic novel, with a magical twist, for fans of Bloom and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, where a pottery student finds her artistic voice—and her first love.

Just as Jade is about to leave for a summer art program, her best friend, Phoebe, attempts suicide. How is Jade supposed to focus on her ceramics when Phoebe is in so much pain?

At the Art Farm, Jade is thrust into a whirlwind of creation, critiques, and the fervor of her fellow artists. As she gets to know her classmates, she begins to fall for upbeat, whimsical Mary.

The Art Farm is competitive. Jade's teachers are exacting. Overwhelmed, Jade pours herself—and her emotions—into making clay creatures. When she fires them in the kiln, something unreal happens: they come to life, running wild and wreaking havoc. If Jade won’t confront her problems, her problems are going to confront her, including the scariest of them all: If Jade finds a way to grow, thrive, and even fall in love this summer, is she leaving Phoebe behind?

By: Nicole Melleby (Author), Paperback, 2023

From the acclaimed authors of Hurricane Season and Ana on the Edge, an unforgettable story about the importance of and joy in finding a community, for fans of Alex Gino and Ashley Herring-Blake.
 
Twelve-year-old Abigail (she/her/hers) is so excited to spend her summer at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids. She can’t wait to find a community where she can be herself—and, she hopes, admit her crush on that one hot older actress to kids who will understand.

Thirteen-year-old Kai (e/em/eir) is not as excited. E just wants to hang out with eir best friend and eir parkour team. And e definitely does not want to think about the incident that left eir arm in a sling—the incident that also made Kai’s parents determined to send em somewhere e can feel like emself.

After a bit of a rocky start at camp, Abigail and Kai make a pact: If Kai helps Abigail make new friends, Abigail will help Kai's cabin with the all-camp competition. But as they navigate a summer full of crushes, queer identity exploration, and more, they learn what's really important. Camp QUILTBAG is a heartfelt story full of the joy that comes from being and loving yourself.

By: Nicole Melleby (Author), 2024, Paperback

In this powerful novel by an award-winning author, 12-year-old Winnie Nash is forced to live with her grandma for the summer and finds herself torn between her family’s secrets and the joy of celebrating Pride.

Winnie Nash never used to have so many secrets.

But then she agreed to stay with her grandma for the summer so her mom can take care of her health during her latest pregnancy. Now Winnie plays card games with Grandma’s friends (boring), joins the senior citizen book club (fine, even if no one thinks she’ll read the books), and absolutely does not talk about her mom’s sad days (she never used to be so sad…).

The biggest secret is that her parents asked Winnie not to mention she’s gay to Grandma. And there’s a really cute girl who also hangs out with the senior citizens. What happens if Grandma notices just how much Winnie likes Pippa? The longer Winnie hides the truth, the more she longs to be surrounded by her LGBTQ+ community and the more she feels like the only place she can be herself is at New York City’s Pride celebration. Winnie decides she’ll get to Pride, one way or another. But is this just one more secret she has to keep?

By: Sara Farizan (Author), 2023, Paperback

In this “terrifyingly fun” (NYT) horror comedy, two friends must solve the mystery of their long-missing former friend’s supernatural reappearance—perfect for fans of Stranger Things.

Growing up, Cori, Maz, and Sam were inseparable best friends, sharing their love for pop culture, Halloween, and arcade games. Now it’s 1992, Sam has been missing for five years, and Cori and Maz aren’t speaking anymore. How could they be, when Cori is sure Sam is dead, and Maz has good reason to believe he was kidnapped by a supernatural pinball machine?
 
These days, all Maz wants to do is party and run away from his past. Meanwhile, Cori hides her abiding love of horror movies and her queer self under the bubblegum veneer of a high school queen bee. But then Sam returns—still twelve years old, while his best friends are now seventeen. What really happened the night he disappeared? And just because he's back, does that mean he's safe? To find answers, Cori, Maz, and Sam will need to reveal secrets they never told one another, then and now. And Sam’s is the darkest of all . . .
 
Award-winning author Sara Farizan delivers edge-of-your-seat terror, with her insightful characters, witty narration, and trademark referential humor.

* "Well-crafted homage to narratives like It and Stranger Things . . . A great choice for stalwart horror fans and newcomers to the genre." —Booklist, starred review

By: Shana Corey (Author), Margeaux Lucas (Illustrator), 2020, Hardcover

Help your little one dream big with a Little Golden Book biography all about the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! The perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers!

This Little Golden Book is a compelling introduction to an inspiring woman, written for the youngest readers. From a young age, Ruth Bader Ginsburg knew that she wanted to fight for girls and women to have equal rights. She studied and worked very hard and became just the second woman--and the first Jewish woman--to be a United States Supreme Court Justice. This is a terrific read for future trailblazers and their parents!

By: Vivek Shraya (Author), Rajna Perra (Illustrator), 2016, Hardcover, Picture Book

In this beautiful children’s picture book by Vivek Shraya, author of the acclaimed God Loves Hair, a five-year-old South Asian boy becomes fascinated with his mother’s bindi, the red dot commonly worn by Hindu women to indicate the point at which creation begins, and wishes to have one of his own. Rather than chastise her son, she agrees to it, and teaches him about its cultural significance, allowing the boy to discover the magic of the bindi, which in turn gives him permission to be more fully himself.

Beautifully illustrated by Rajni Perera, The Boy & the Bindi is a joyful celebration of gender and cultural difference.

Vivek Shraya is a writer, musician, performer, and filmmaker. His body of work includes twelve albums, four short films, and four books which include God Loves Hair, She of the Mountains, and even this page is white. He has read and performed at shows, festivals, and post-secondary institutions internationally. He lives in Toronto.

Rajni Perera is a Sri Lankan-born artist whose internationally showcased work floats between Western and immigrant culture. She lives in Toronto.

By: Corey Silverberg (Author), Fiona Smyth (Illustrator), Carolina De Robertis (Translator), 2017, Paperback, Picture Book

Álbum ilustrado en el que se explica a los niños de dónde vienen los niños y como son concebidos. ¿De dónde vienen los bebés?¿De dónde vengo yo?Dos preguntas que se hacen todos los niños en un momento determinado, sobre todo cuando está a punto de llegar un nuevo miembro a la familia.Escrito e ilustrado para incluir todo tipo de bebés, adultos y familias, este libro enseña qué es la concepción, la gestación y el nacimiento.Los padres encontrarán el espacio idóneo para educar a sus hijos sin tener que eludir su propia experiencia.

By: Kirsten Anderson (Author), Who HQ (Author), Joseph J. M. Qiu (Illustrator), 2016, Paperback

How does a little boy from the London suburbs named Reginald Kenneth Dwight grow up to become one of the biggest pop stars of all time? A lot of talent and a lot of personality! Elton John, as he would later call himself, started playing piano at the age of three. Although he was trained to play classical music, Elton's real love was rock and roll.  He cut his first album in 1969 and has dominated the airwaves ever since with songs like "Your Song," "Crocodile Rock" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Known for his outlandish stage costumes and giant glasses, Elton John continues to write songs for Broadway musicals, Hollywood soundtracks, and Top-40 hits.

By: Mara Rockliff (author), Elizabeth Baddeley (Illustrator), 2019, Hardcover

A fun and inspiring picture book biography of tennis legend and women's rights activist Billie Jean King.

From award-winning author Mara Rockliff and New York Times-bestselling illustrator Elizabeth Baddeley comes this extraordinary picture book about one little girl who loved sports and grew up to be one of the greatest and best-known tennis players of all time.

Anything Billie Jean did, she did it ALL THE WAY. When she ran, she ran fast. When she played, she played hard. As a top women's tennis player, Billie Jean fought for fairness in women's sports, and when she faced off against Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes, the most famous tennis match in history, she showed the world that men and women--and boys and girls--are equal on and off the court.

By Jodie Patterson, 2021 Hardback

Penelope knows that he's a boy. (And a ninja.) The problem is getting everyone else to realize it.

In this exuberant companion to Jodie Patterson's adult memoir, The Bold World, Patterson shares her son Penelope's frustrations and triumphs on his journey to share himself with the world. Penelope's experiences show children that it always makes you stronger when you are true to yourself and who you really are.

By Shannon Weber and Jade Orlando, 2021 Paperback

What is equality? A big question to answer and an even bigger topic to implement.

Activists Assemble: We Are All Equal explains what it is to be a citizen, how important it is to treat, and be treated, as equal within the society, and how you can use your voice to champion equality. Discover the history of equality - both the successes and the tragedies, meet past and present faces who overcame discrimination to be a voice for us all, and explore ways you can make a difference and challenge inequality. Important topics such as disabilities, gender, religion, and race are discussed, giving readers all the information and practical advice needed to get their voices heard.