Books by members of Out For Our Children
Want Toast
| Author | Anna Wilson |
| Illustrator | Vanda Carter |
| Description | Picture book telling the story of a very young, very adventurous girl. Although Ruth knows what she wants, the delights of waking up at first hint of daylight prove hard to share with her mummies. And soon she learns there's more to learn. This is a joyous tale of discovery wherein Ruth plans her next steps. |
| Price | £5.99 |
| ISBN | 978-0-9561053-0-1 |
If I Had 100 Mummies
| Author | Vanda Carter |
| Illustrator | Vanda Carter |
| Description | A picture book. "If I had a hundred mummies they would have to form a queue to give me goodnight kisses, blow my nose and tie my shoes." |
| Age group | Early readers |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Price | £5.99 |
Spacegirl Pukes
| Author | Katy Watson |
| Illustrator | Vanda Carter |
| Description | An adventure for young astronauts. When nausea grips intrepid Spacegirl on the day of a mission to the stars she is lucky to have two mummies to help her out, but soon - yes - everyone is going "Bleurgh!" Will there be enough buckets? Will her mission be cancelled? Will Spacegirl ever reach the stars? |
| Age group | 2 - 6 |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Year | 2006 |
| Download | spacegirl_pukes_activities.zip (1.2mb) |
More good books from Onlywomen Press and the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF).
Book package bargain
We are offering a great package of books which we have put together with the book distributors, Letterbox Library. The Letterbox Library Book Package includes eight of the books featured in the OFOC Foundation Stage Pack at a bargain price of £59 (inclusive of p&p) . We think you will agree that this is a very good deal.
To order the Letterbox Package, contact info@letterboxlibrary.com / 020 7503 4801.
Book list
Out For Our Children have compiled this list of books for Early Years and Primary School age children featuring same-sex parent families, lesbian & gay characters and themes. The age categories are only intended as a rough guide.
We do not necessarily recommend all the books on the list. Sometimes an imperfect book is better than no book? We have tried to indicate where books are out of print or hard to get. We have listed a web address for books currently without UK distribution. Please tell us about any other books you think should be included in our list. You can download ofoc_booklist_feb-2012as a separate Word document.
0 to 3 years
ABC: A Family Alphabet Book
| Author | Combs, Bobbie |
| Description | The watercolours in this alphabet book depict families headed by gays and lesbians. |
| Age group | Baby to Preschool |
| Publisher | Two Lives Publishing |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2001 |
Best, Best Colours (Los Mejores Colores)
| Author | Hoffman, Eric |
| Description | With the help of his two mammas, Nate learns he can have more than one best colour and one best friend. Includes activity and teaching ideas. |
| Age group | Baby to Preschool (Bilingual English/ Spanish) |
| Publisher | Redleaf Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 1999 |
Daddy, Papa and Me
| Author | Newman, Leslea |
| Illustrator | Carol Thompson |
| Description | Board book for very young children. |
| Age group | 0 to 3 years |
| Publisher | Tricycle Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2009 |
Emma and Meesha my Boy
| Author | Considine, Kaitlyn Taylor |
| Description | The story of a little girl with two mums, who learns how to be nice to her cat. |
| Age group | Baby to Preschool |
| Country | USA |
| Website | www.twomombooks.com |
Flying Free
| Author | Jennifer Gregg |
| Description | A picture book for children of LGBT and diverse familes. |
| Age group | 2 to 6 |
| Publisher | BookSurge Publishing. |
Mama Eat Ant, Yuck!
| Author | Edmonds, Barbara |
| Description | A funny story in the family life of one-year-old Emma, her Mama and Mommy, and her siblings |
| Age group | Newborn to 7 |
| Publisher | Hundredth Munchy Publications. |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2000 |
Mommy, Mama and Me
| Author | Newman, Leslea |
| Illustrator | Carol Thompson |
| Description | Board book for very young children. |
| Age group | 0 to 3 |
| Publisher | Tricycle Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2009 |
Not Ready Yet!
| Author | Tamsin Walker |
| Description | In this colourful picure book a child goes on a fun filled camping holiday with their mum and their mum's girlfriend. The whole family enjoy themselves enormously and parents and children alike will enjoy reading this book again and again. Children will particularly enjoy the sounds of the rhymimg words and trying to find the snail in each image. |
| Age group | 2 to 7 |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2009 |
Something Else
| Author | Kathryn Cave |
| Illustrator | Picture Puffin |
| Description | ‘Something Else’ is a funny looking little blue creature. He tries to be like the other animals. But everything he does shows how different he is. Then ‘Something’, a blond fella with a snout, turns up and wants to be friends. But ‘Something Else’ isn’t sure he’s at all like him. Enchanting. |
| Age group | 2 to 7 |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 1995 |
Spacegirl Pukes
| Author | Katy Watson |
| Illustrator | Vanda Carter |
| Description | An adventure for young astronauts. When nausea grips intrepid Spacegirl on the day of a mission to the stars she is lucky to have two mummies to help her out, but soon - yes - everyone is going "Bleurgh!" Will there be enough buckets? Will her mission be cancelled? Will Spacegirl ever reach the stars? |
| Age group | 2 - 6 |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Year | 2006 |
| Download | spacegirl_pukes_activities.zip (1.2mb) |
The Manu Series
| Author | Moreno Velo, Lucía |
| Illustrator | Javier Termenón Delgado |
| Description | Manu is a series of bilingual Spanish-English cardboard picture books dealing with situations from the daily life of Manu and his two mothers. Includes Manu sets the table, Manu’s bedtime & No, Manu! Currently only available in the UK online. |
| Publisher | Topka |
| Country | Spain |
| Year | 2006 |
| Website | www.topka.es |
The Mommy Book
| Author | Parr, Todd |
| Description | The Mommy Book celebrates all different kinds of moms and highlights the many reasons they are so special. Whether your mom goes fishing or goes shopping, whether she works at home or in a big building, whether she has short hair or big hair, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of mother you have, every mother is special in her own unique way. |
| Age group | 2 to 7 |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Young Readers |
| Year | 2010 |
4 to 8 years
123: A Family Counting Book
| Author | Combs, Bobbie |
| Illustrator | Danamarie Hosler |
| Description | Celebrates alternative families as it teaches kids to count from one to twenty |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Two Lives Publishing |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2001 |
And Tango Makes Three
| Author | Parnell, Peter & Justin Richardson |
| Description | Based on a true story about two male penguins living in New York City's Central Park Zoo who hatch an egg together and look after the penguin chick. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2005 |
Dad David, Baba Chris and Me
| Author | Ed Merchant |
| Description | Ben is eight years old. He lives in an ordinary house in an ordinary street and goes to an ordinary school. In fact he's just like everybody else. Or is he? Ben lives with his two dads who adopted him when he was four. Children at school find out and tease him. Ben gets worried because he doesn't want to be different from everyone else. |
| Publisher | British Association for Adoption and Fostering |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2010 |
Giraffes Can’t Dance
| Author | Giles Andreae |
| Illustrator | Guy Parker-Rees |
| Description | Gerald was a tall giraffe Whose neck was long and slim, But his knees were awfully bandy And his legs were rather thin... Every year Gerald dreads the great Jungle Dance, and feels ashamed that he cannot tango and two-step with the rest of the jungle animals. But then one day he realises that it doesn't matter that he is different from everyone else--its just that he needs a different tune to dance to. |
| Age group | 3 to 5 |
| Publisher | Orchard |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2001 |
Going to Fair Day
| Author | Brenna and Vicki Harding |
| Illustrator | Chris Bray-Cotton |
| Description | A young girl goes to the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair with her two mums and meets a friend who has two dads. Available online. |
| Age group | 2 to 8 |
| Publisher | Learning to Include |
| Country | Australia |
| Year | 2003 |
| Website | www.hotkey.net.au/~learn_to_include/index.htm |
If I Had A Hundred Mummies
| Author | Carter, Vanda |
| Description | A little girl imagines what it would be like to have 100 mummies, eventually deciding that she is happy with just the two she’s got. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2007 |
It’s OK To Be Different
| Author | Parr, Todd |
| Description | A celebration of diversity. |
| Age group | 4 - 8 |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Young Readers |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2004 |
Josh and Jess have Three Mums
| Author | Argent, Hedi |
| Description | Josh and Jess are five-year-old twins who have been adopted by a lesbian couple. They are anxious when their school teacher asks them to produce a family tree. With their mums they produce a family tree that wins the admiration of their classmates. |
| Age group | 4 to 7 |
| Publisher | British Association for Adoption & Fostering |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2007 |
King and King
| Author | De Haan, Linda |
| Illustrator | Stern Nijland |
| Description | Presents same-sex marriage as a viable, acceptable way of life within a fairy tale. Translated from Dutch. |
| Publisher | Tricycle Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2002 |
Koalas on Parade
| Author | Harding, Brenna and Vicki |
| Illustrator | Chris Bray-Cotton |
| Description | The narrator's two mums help her make a koala costume & win first prize in her school’s costume parade. Available online. |
| Age group | 2 to 8 |
| Publisher | Learning to Include |
| Country | Australia |
| Year | 2003 |
| Website | www.hotkey.net.au/~learn_to_include/index.htm |
Let’s Talk: About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families & Friends
| Author | Robie H. Harris |
| Illustrator | Michael Emberley |
| Description | Young children ask so many questions about their bodies and how they were made. With lively language, engaging art and clear, accurate information, this book answers those perfectly normal questions and will help even pre-school children feel proud and comfortable about their own bodies. Includes lesbian and gay families alongside others. It is an invaluable resource for parents, teachers, librarians and health professionals to use with children. Others are available in this series for older children. |
| Publisher | Walker Books Ltd |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2007 (new edition) |
Molly’s Family
| Author | Garden, Nancy |
| Illustrator | Sharon Wooding |
| Description | Molly's classmates tell her, "No one has two mommies" |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Books For Young Readers). |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2004 |
Mom and Mum Are Getting Married
| Author | Setterington, Ken |
| Illustrator | Alice Priestly |
| Description | Rosie's two mothers are going to get married. |
| Publisher | Second Story Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2007 |
Monday Is One Day
| Author | Arthur A. Levine |
| Illustrator | Julian Hector |
| Description | Ideal for families with working parents. The hardest part of going to work is being apart from you. / Let’s count the days till we’re both at home with a special thing to do. Levine focuses upon special moments of togetherness wherever they happen to fall. Hector's grinning cartoon-style illustrations are delightful, based in reality but accented with unexpected colour, such as the carnival stripes of a farmer’s distant field. But the book's greatest accomplishment might be its cross-section of society: white, black, old, young, white-collar, blue-collar, straight, and gay. |
| Publisher | Scholastic Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2011 |
Mummy Never Told Me
| Author | Babette Cole |
| Description | Open this delightful book for a sneaky peek at life's little secrets, like why to grown-ups spend so much time in teh bathroom, or why Mum and Dad sometimes lock their bedroom door? A witty exploration of taboos. |
| Publisher | Red Fox |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2004 |
One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dad
| Author | Valentine, Johnny |
| Illustrator | Melody Sarecky |
| Description | Carries the message that all people are basically the same whatever their skin color or sexual orientation. |
| Publisher | Alyson Wonderland Books |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2004 |
Our Story – for children conceived by DI into lesbian parented families
| Description | "One day I said 'Have I got a dad? Then my mums told me all about how a hospital helped them to have a baby - me! I am really happy my mums could do this and I am proud of us and our family." |
| Website | www.donor-conception-network.org/dcn_pubs.htm |
Picnic in the Park
| Author | Griffiths, Joe and Tony Pilgrim |
| Illustrator | Lucy Pearce |
| Description | A charming picture book for children which shows that families are diverse and come in all shapes and sizes. Jason is going to have a picnic in the park for his fifth birthday. Amy and Stuart are there with their foster parents and Amber is there too with her two mummies and what’s more…they’ve all bought presents! |
| Age group | 3 to 8 |
| Publisher | British Association for Adoption and Fostering |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2007 |
Tales of Zebedy-do-dah
| Author | Georgina Crawford |
| Illustrator | Emily McCann |
| Description | Curious, clever puppy-dog Zebedy-do-dah gets into mischief. Lost at a crowded country fair she meets all sorts of dogs and finally is reunited with her family. |
| Age group | 3 to 8 |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2009 |
The boy who cried fabulous
| Author | Leslea Newman |
| Illustrator | Peter Ferguson |
| Description | A boy keeps getting sidetracked when walking to school by all the 'fabulous' things he sees. The story ends with lesson of accepting each others' unique gifts. A simple story with lightly gay sub-text? |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Tricycle Press |
| Year | 2004 |
The Day They Put A Tax on Rainbows
| Author | Valentine, Johnny |
| Description | A collection of fairytales in which some of the characters are gay. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Alyson Books |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 1992 |
The Different Dragon
| Author | Jennifer Bryan |
| Description | The care and curiosity of a little boy, with some help from his mums, can lead to magical and unexpected places. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Two Lives Publishing |
| Year | 2006 |
The Family Book
| Author | Todd Parr |
| Description | Parr introduces children to an array of families including those with two mums or two dads. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Little, Brown Young Readers. |
| Year | 2004 |
The Great Big Book of Families
| Author | Mary Hoffman |
| Illustrator | Ros Asquith |
| Description | Great little book that shows all the varieties of families, including lesbian and gay parents, and also features homes and holidays, schools and pets. |
| Publisher | Frances Lincoln Children's Books |
| Year | 2010 |
The Many-Colored Love / El amor de todos los colores
| Author | Moreno Velo, Lucía |
| Illustrator | Javier Termenón |
| Description | Bilingual English/Spanish story of a girl who is expecting a new sibling. She makes up a fantastic story about how her two-mum family came about. “The many-colored love was born when Maite's mothers met, and Maite was born from the many-colored love…” Currently only available in UK online from publisher. |
| Age group | 4 to 6 |
| Publisher | Topka |
| Country | Spain |
| Year | 2007 |
| Website | www.topka.es |
The Paper Bag Princess
| Author | Robert Munsch |
| Illustrator | Annick Press Ltd |
| Description | Elizabeth is a beautiful princess living in a castle with expensive princess clothes and about to a marry a prince named Ronald. And then a dragon attacks the castle and carries off Ronald. She sets out to rescue him. A delightful alternative take on a traditional story. |
| Age group | 3 to 7 |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2009 |
The Rainbow Cubby House
| Author | Harding, Brenna and Vicki |
| Illustrator | Chris Bray-Cotton |
| Description | A little girl, her mums, her friend Jed and his dads build a cubby house in the back yard. Available in large size (A3) for classroom use or standard A5 size, and online. |
| Age group | 2 to 8 |
| Publisher | Learning to Include |
| Country | Australia |
| Year | 2003 |
| Website | www.hotkey.net.au/~learn_to_include/index.htm |
The Sissy Duckling
| Author | Fierstein, Harvey |
| Description | Elmer is not like the other boy ducklings. They box while Elmer bakes, build forts while Elmer makes sand castles. But Elmer proves he is a hero. |
| Age group | 4 to 8 |
| Publisher | Aladdin |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2005 |
The Story of Ferdinand
| Author | Leaf, Munro |
| Illustrator | Robert Lawson |
| Description | A classic story for children about a young bull who prefers to sit and smell flowers rather than fight. Banned in 1930’s Spain during the Civil War and burned in Nazi Germany, this classic story carries a powerful message about having the courage to be yourself, daring to be different and resisting bullying and violence. |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap – Reading Railroad Books |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2000 |
Want Toast
| Author | Wilson, Anna |
| Illustrator | Carter, Vanda |
| Description | Picture book telling the story of a very young, very adventurous girl. Although Ruth knows what she wants, the delights of waking up at first hint of daylight prove hard to share with her mummies. This is a joyous tale of discovery wherein Ruth plans her next steps. |
| Publisher | Onlywomen Press |
| Country | UK |
| Year | 2010 |
Who’s In A Family?
| Author | Skutch, Robert & Laura Nienhaus |
| Description | Looks at multicultural contemporary family units, includings lesbian and gay parents |
| Age group | 3 to 7 |
| Publisher | Tricycle Press |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 1997 |
8 to 12 years
Belinda’s Bouquet
| Author | Newman, Leslea |
| Description | Examines body-image, sexual orientation, same-sex parents and other issues. |
| Age group | 9 to 12 |
| Publisher | Alyson Publications |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 1989 |
| Availability | Not currently available |
Generous Jefferson Bartleby Jones, The
| Author | Brown, Forman |
| Description | Jeff lends his two dads to his friends and then regrets it. |
| Age group | 9 to 12 |
| Publisher | Alyson Publications |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 1992 |
Book outlets
- Gay's the Word Lesbian and Gay Bookshop Independent bookshop in London with a good stock of pro-diversity children's books. Website has a list of books for children, or ring them to get a copy: 0207 278 7654.
- Letterbox Library 'Celebrating equality and diversity in the best children's books'. Mail order catalogue. On their website, look in 'Families' and also 'Gender equality'. Autumn 07 Catalogue 92 included an article on lesbian and gay representations for early years and primary, and they recommend If I Had a Hundred Mummies amongst other titles.
- Learn to Include Early childhood education material (readers) that include same sex parent families. My House, Going to Fair Day, The Rainbow Cubby House and Koalas on Parade - easy-to-read books which include same sex parent families. Written by an Australian primary school student and her lesbian mum (who could not find any readers featuring same-sex families to donate to her daughter's school). Bright and happy, and given the thumbs up by year one students and teachers, what better way to show children that every family is important.’ There is also a teachers' manual.
Publishers
- Onlywomen Press
- Alyson Wonderland US "imprint dedicated to providing children of gay and lesbian parents books that reflect the reality of their lives".
Children’s books