5 unmissable Australian queer picture books

Queer parents and their children rarely see families like theirs in books for early and pre-readers.

In 2021, the Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlisted a queer picture book in its Early Childhood Award for the first time: Who’s Your Real Mum? by Bernadette Green and Anna Zobel.

Awards like this have a huge influence on sales, readership, and the books that are taught in schools. The teachers’ notes and classroom activities provided for most shortlisted books are added incentives for early childhood and primary school educators to adopt these books.

This landmark shortlisting inspired us to look for more titles that engage deeply with the diverse communities that make up Australian society, including queer families. We enlisted the help of the State Library of NSW, inviting library staff across NSW to share diverse books from their collections.

We’ve selected five unmissable reads that centre on queer stories from the resulting Diverse Picture Books list, now live online.

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Bias learned from an early age

Queer representation in fiction can provide education, validation and affirmation to young people. It also helps to normalise queerness.

Because bias is learned from a very early age, it’s important for early and pre-readers to access the stories and experiences of queer families, and to begin the work of overcoming those biases.

Books about queer families provide a window into that experience for those outside it, promoting wider acceptance, understanding or celebration of such families. They also hold up a mirror for the many children living in such families, giving them the opportunity to see their lives reflected in the literature they read.

So, whether you are looking through a window or holding up a mirror, here are five picture books about family, identity and the queer experience:

1. Who’s Your Real Mum? written by Bernadette Green, illustrated by Anna Zobel

This picture book challenges the stereotypes of what makes a family. It addresses a common question that same-sex parents and their children inevitably face: Who’s your real mum? Elvi has two mums and her curious friend Nicholas constantly asks which mum is the “real” one. As Nicholas persists, Elvi comes up with increasingly outlandish, imaginative responses. Ultimately, Elvi teaches Nicholas the beautiful lesson that the role of a parent is far more than just biology. 2. Wrestle by Maya Newell, Charlotte Mars, Gus Skattebol-James, illustrated by Tom Jellett