Summer 2023      Volume 51, Number 3

Authors, Books, and Beyond: Books for Kids Who Affirm Trans, Queer, and
Nonbinary Identities
By Christie Angleton

Document: Column  

Introductory Paragraph:  As I sit to write this column, a nearly uncountable number of hateful anti-queer legislation has been introduced in nearly all 50 states. I say nearly uncountable because even as I have actively worked to keep up with legislation targeting everything from books with queer content, to drag shows, to gender-affirming healthcare, I have struggled to keep up with all of the vitriol. Even in our home state of Illinois, multiple bills at different levels of government have been introduced, and teachers and librarians have been threatened, harassed, and even fired for sharing queer-centric books with young readers. Although this climate surely feels scary for teachers and librarians, our jobs as people who work with children require us to be advocates for children as a baseline—and that means all children. As Mariana Souto-Manning (2018) reminds us, including queer literature in the classroom “is not a privilege or an option; it is a right and a responsibility” (p. x). I urge all teachers, librarians, and others in roles caring for children to take that responsibility very seriously, as queer folx need our allyship now more than ever.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.33600/IRCJ.51.3.2023.75

Page Numbers:   75-79