Books for 7 year olds with gay families/individuals

[kw13]

Am looking for fiction books with gay (men or women) characters in. Want to help DS to see gay families/individuals as a normal part of everyday life. Any suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks.

There's this Uncle Bobby's Wedding...but Uncle Bobby is a Hamster which may confuse things a bit But there seems to be a lack in fiction for this age group which shows gay families or people in them. Some board type books for toddlers...then there seems to be a leap into teenage stuff....bit of a shame!

NeoMaxiZoomDweebie: thank you. Agree entirely. Nothing for the slightly older, but most definitely pre-teen market.

Tabby McTat has Prunella and Pat

Letterbox library are good for this kind of thing. Loads on gender equality, not so much on homosexuality.

To me deepest shame, the thing that triggered that conversation in my house was this ....

I play a playstation game called skyrim, and sometimes I let them watch me. It's a great big sandbox game, and you can do as you please on it, really ... Including, very quietly and without any fuss, marrying characters of the same gender.

My 7 year old queried why I was "a lady marrying a lady" and my ten year old scornfully said "why does it even matter?! Play the game!" Which, yeah. Sums up my attitude to gay marriage entirely. I only care about it when someone is trying to stop it happening.

We have gay uncles on both sides and one gay Gran...so my DDs have long been exposed to relationships of all kinds however it didn't stop my 5 year old going when I explained that women could marry women and men men.

I told her people can marry and love who they like....she's still skeptical but my 9 year old DD is vociferous about gay rights and transgender rights too.

I might buy DD the hamster story!

Not about gay families but David Walliams Boy in a dress is a good way to introduce the concept of transvestism, and the acceptance of people whoever they are. There were a few references - e.g. to lads mags at the beginning which mean you might want to read and explain as you go rather than giving to read themselves. Dd1 loved it, she was 7 when she read it. Depends if you are wanting to explain something in your family or if to discuss wider issues about sexuality. Agree though they don't seem to think sexuality is a big deal.

Are there any for older kids too?

My 9 year old football hating twin boys have had the gay label as an insult and I'm trying hard to instil that the use of the word in a derogatory sense is wrong ie many people are born gay and it is neither here nor there.

Some fiction would be good to support this but there is nothing and zilch in films either.

I am completely struggling to think of any books for early readers through to pre-teens with gay characters at all, much less same sex parents. (Dumbledore excepted, but you'd never know from the books.) There is this book listed on amazon which apparantly covers books up to age 12, tho I strongly suspect it will be 90% picture books.

Hmm, just found this list tho it is from the States. I know The Name of This Book is Secret is popular here, though probably more 10/11 up I guess. (I think the 3-6, 4-7 etc in brackets in the list I've linked to must refer to US school grades, not age!)

Looking at that list, I think I might get Addie on the Inside and The Misfits by the same author for dd :)

Brilliant. Especial thanks to Takver. Really interesting list from The Welcoming Schools Group - Grade 4 is the equivalent of 9 years old so am going to try some aimed at Grade 2.