Gender & Sexuality Diversity (GSD)

A poignant, timely, and universal picture book about fear, adoption, family, and the joy of fatherhood, written by beloved and award-winning author Vera B. Williams and illustrated by the author in collaboration with two-time Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka.

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.

Three young children experience the joys and challenges of being raised by two mothers.

How It Feels to Have a Gay or Lesbian Parent: A Book by Kids for Kids of All Ages gives voice to the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of children, adolescents, and young adults who have a gay or lesbian parent. In their own words, they talk openly and candidly about how and when they learned of their parent's sexual orientation and the effect it had on them--and their families.

Three teenagers in Boston narrate their experiences of a year of new friendships, first loves, and coming into their own.

The world expects perfection from seventeen-year-old Shawna Gallagher, and for the most part, that's what they get. She dates the right boys, gets good grades, and follows her father's every rule. But when her estranged lesbian mother dies, it's more than perfect Shawna can take. Suddenly, anger from being abandoned ten years ago is resurfacing along with Shawna's embarrassment over her mother's other family. As she confronts family secrets and questions from the past, Shawna realizes there's a difference between doing the perfect thing and doing the right thing. (Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Bowker service)

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways... until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else -- an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world. (Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Bowker service)

With his mother working long hours and in pain from a romantic break-up, eighteen-year-old Logan feels alone and unloved until a zany new student arrives at his small-town Missouri high school, keeping a big secret.
Logan Witherspoon befriends Sage Hendricks at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. Pulled in by her deep, but sexy feminine voice and her constant smile, eventually Logan's feelings for Sage grow so strong that he can't resist kissing her. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she was born a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage. Once his anger has cooled, however, his regrets lead him to attempt to rekindle their friendship. But it's hard to replace something that's been broken-- and even harder to find your way back to friendship when you began with love.

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both. (Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Bowker service)

Grayson Sender has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: "he" is a girl on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender's body. The weight of this secret is crushing, but sharing it would mean facing ridicule, scorn, rejection, or worse. Despite the risks, Grayson's true self itches to break free. Will new strength from an unexpected friendship and a caring teacher's wisdom be enough to help Grayson step into the spotlight she was born to inhabit? (Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Bowker service)

A four-year-old boy loves dressing up in princess clothing. "A nonfiction picture book about acceptance ... to give children and adults a tool to talk about unconditional friendship"--Dust jacket.

After Katie gets caught teasing a schoolmate, she's told to meet with Mrs. Petrowski, the school counselor, so she can make right her wrong and learn to be a better friend. Bothered at first, it doesn't take long before Katie realizes that bullying has hurt not only the people around her, but her, too. Told from the unusual point of view of the bullier rather than the bullied, Confessions of a Former Bully provides kids with real life tools they can use to identify and stop relational aggression. (Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a Bowker service)

All four of the Misfits books, the middle school series that inspired National No Name-Calling Week, are now available in a collectible boxed set.

Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will break our spirit.

Welcome to Paintbrush Falls, home of the “Gang of Five”—four best friends whose “fast, funny, tender” (School Library Journal) stories are iconic examples of the middle school experience.