Kids are curious about all kinds of things – including bodies, babies, growing up, sex, and gender. Meeting that curiosity with facts, supported by conversation with a trusted adult, helps kids of all ages stay healthy and safe.
These booklists offer nonfiction and fiction titles to open up learning, understanding, and discussion between parents/caregivers and their children. The listed age range is the target audience identified by the publisher or a trusted reviewer.
Parents/caregivers: You decide for you which titles fit the needs of your child at which time.
- All books for young children are meant to be shared between parent/caregiver and child.
- Titles for tweens and teens might also be read together. Or you might read a book first, give it to your tween/teen, and follow up with them after they have read it.
Click on a cover to link to print and e-book options from the library.
How Babies Begin: Children Ages 2-9
Address the question of where babies come from.
What's In There?
by Robie H. Harris Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Wescott
Making a Baby
by Rachel Greener & Clare Owen
What Makes a Baby
What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth
Everywhere Babies
by Susan Meyers, Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Making More
by Katherine Roy
It's Not The Stork!
by Robie H. Harris, Illustrated by Michael Emberley
It's So Amazing!
by Robie H. Harris, Illustrated by Michael Emberley
Bodies and Consent: Children Ages 3-7
Provide a basic description of body parts including genitals, and/or introduce consent in the context of young children.
Book Who has what
by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Book Amazing You
by Gail Saltz, illustrated by Lynne Avril Cravath
All About Penises
by Dorian Solot & Marshall Miller
All About Vulvas and Vagina
by Dorian Solot & Marshall Miller
Yes! No!: A First Conversation About Consent
by Megan Madison & Jessica Ralli
Do You Have a Secret?
by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
I Like It When . . .
Mary Murphy
Can I Give You a Squish?
by Emily Neilson
More Than Fluff
by Madeline Valentine
We Can Say No
by Lydia Bowers
We Accept No
by Lydia Bowers
We Are in Charge of Our Bodies
by Lydia Bowers
We Ask Permission
by Lydia Bowers
Miles is the Boss of His Body
by Abbie Schiller & Samantha Kurtzman-Counter
Your Body Belongs to You
by Cornelia Spelman
No Means No!: Teaching Personal Boundaries, Consent; Empowering Children by Respecting Their Choices and Right to Say 'No!'
by Jayneen Sanders
An Exceptional Children's Guide to Touch: Teaching Social and Physical Boundaries to Kids
by Hunter Manasco
Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept: Protect children from unsafe touch by teaching them to always speak up
by Jayneen Sanders
Bodies and Consent: Children Ages 8-12
Provide more thorough information on bodies, including genitals. Introduce body changes that come with puberty, and/or address consent in relationships, including in sexual relationships.
Consent (for Kids!): Boundaries, Respect, and Being in Charge of YOU
by Rachel Brian
Welcome to Consent: How to Say No, When to Say Yes, and How to Be the Boss of Your Body
by Yumi Stynes & Melissa Kang
Guy Talk: The Ultimate Boy's Body Book with Stuff Guys Need to Know while Growing Up Great!
by Editors of Cider Mill Press
Girl Talk: The Ultimate Body Book for Girls
by Editors of Cider Mill Press
The Every Body Book of Consent: An LGBTQIA-Inclusive Guide to Respecting Boundaries, Bodies, and Beyond
by Rachel E. Simon
A Kids Book About Body Image
by Rebecca Alexander
Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent & Respect
by Jayneen Sanders
Body Beautiful
by Susan Verde
Bodies and Consent: Ages 13-18
Provide thorough information on bodies, with a focus on genitals. May also discuss sexual relationships, including physical and emotional aspects, and/or thoroughly cover consent, particularly as it relates to dating and sexual relationships.
Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers
by Nancy Amanda Redd
The Girl’s Guide to Relationships, Sexuality, and Consent: Tools to Help Teens Stay Safe, Empowered, and Confident
by Leah Aguirre & Geraldine O'Sullivan
Real Talk About Sex and Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know
by Cheryl Bradshaw
We Need to Talk About Vaginas: An IMPORTANT Book About Vulvas, Periods, Puberty, and Sex!
by Allison Rodgers
Consent: The New Rules of Sex Education: Every Teen's Guide to Healthy Sexual Relationships
by Jennifer Lang
Puberty – Ages 10-14
Information on physical and emotional changes puberty brings, through a tween lens.
It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health – 2021 edition!
by Robie H. Harris
The Book of Radical Answers: Real Questions from Real Kids Just Like You
by Sonya Renee Taylor
Celebrate Your Body (and Its Changes, Too!): The Ultimate Puberty Book for Girls
by Sonya Renee Taylor
Welcome to Your Period!
by Yumi Stynes & Melissa Kang
Sex is a Funny Word: A book about bodies, feelings, and YOU
by Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth
Puberty Is Gross but Also Really Awesome
by Gina Loveless
Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body
by Rachel Greener
Bruno Se Hace Mayor
by Monica Peitx
The World Divided by Piper
by Caela Carter
Will Puberty Last My Whole Life?: REAL Answers to REAL Questions from Preteens About Body Changes, Sex, and Other Growing-Up Stuff
by Julie Metzger RN, MN, Robert Lehman MD, Lia Cerizo (Illustrator)
Growing Up Powerful
by Nona Willis Aronowitz
Growing into You!
by Melissa Pintor Carnagey
Puberty – Ages 12-18
Discuss physical and emotional changes of puberty in greater detail and through a teen lens.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Puberty-and Shouldn’t Be Googling: For Curious Boys
by Morris Katz
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Puberty-and Shouldn’t Learn on TikTok: For Curious Girls
by Gemma Hong & Sophie Young
It’s Totally Normal!: An LGBTQIA+ Guide to Puberty, Sex, and Gender
by Monica Gupta Mehta
You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things
by Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth
Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up
by Heather Corinna, Luke Howard (Editor), Isabella Rotman
It Doesn't Have to Be Awkward: Dealing with Relationships, Consent, and Other Hard-to-Talk-About Stuf
by Drew Pinsky and Paulina Pinsky
All Kinds of Families – Ages 0-8
Focus on family love in various types of families.
Love Makes a Family
by Sophie Beer
Mommy, Mama, and Me
by Leslea Newman
Daddy, Papa, and Me
by Leslea Newman
Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle
by Nina LaCour
Bathe the Cat
by Alice B. McGinty
Gender: Children Ages 4-10
Provide an introduction to gender.
Gender Identity for Kids: A Book About Finding Yourself, Understanding Others, and Respecting Everybody!
by Andy Passchier
Who Are You?: The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity
by Brook Pessin-Whedbee
Not He or She, I’m Me
by A.M. Wild
Being You: A First Conversation About Gender
by Megan Madison
A Kids Book About Gender
by Dale Mueller
A Kids Book About Being Non-Binary
by Hunter Chinn-Raicht
A Kids Book About Being Transgender
by Gia Parr
My Princess Boy
by Cheryl Kilodavis
I Am Jazz
by Jazz Jennings
Jamie Is Jamie: A Book About Being Yourself and Playing Your Way
by Afsaneh Moradian
A House for Everyone: A Story to Help Children Learn about Gender Identity and Gender Expression
by Jo Hirst
Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?
by Sarah Savage
Red: A Crayon's Story
Michael Hall
My Rainbow
by DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal
10,000 Dresses
by Marcus Ewert
LGBTQIA+: Various Ages
Gender, puberty and sexual and reproductive health information through the lens of LGBTQIA+ youth.
Rainbow: A First Book of Pride
by Michael Genhart
The Rainbow Parade: A Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Identities and Allies
by Shane Jordan and Rick Hendrix
It’s Totally Normal!: An LGBTQIA+ Guide to Puberty, Sex, and Gender
by Monica Gupta Mehta
Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens (2nd Edition)
by Kathy Belge and Mark Bieschke
Queer Cheer
by Eric Rosswood & Jodie Anders
Under One Rainbow
by Chris Ayala-Kronos
The Trans and Gender Diverse Teen Resilience Guide: Essential Skills for Building Community, Well-Being, and Mental Health
by Jayme L. Peta PhD, Deb Coolhart PhD, LMFT, Rylan Jay Testa PhD
What If?
by Eric Marcus
Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary and Gender-Diverse People You Should Know
by Em Dickson
The Bi Book
A.J. Irving
Queer Heroes: Meet 52 LGBTQ Heroes From Past & Present!
by Arabelle Sicardi
Strong LGBTQIA+ Main Characters – Ages 8-12
Fiction; main character or a supporting character identifies as LGBTQIA+.
Jamie
by L.D. Lapinski
Ellen Outside The Lines
by A.J. Sass
Rick
by Alex Gino
Spin With Me
by Ami Polonsky
Gooseberry
by Robin Gow
Ollie In Between
by Jess Callans
Strong LGBTQIA+ Characters: Ages 12-18
Fiction; main character or a supporting character identifies as LGBTQIA+.
Melt With You
by Jennifer Dugan
They Both Die at the End
by Adam Silvera
Meet Cute Diary
by Emery Lee
Let Them Stare
by Jonathan Van Ness
And They Were Roommates
by Page Powars
In Case You Read This
by Edward Underhill
I Wish You All The Best
by Mason Deaver
The No Girlfriend Rule
by Christen Randall
This Day Changes Everything
by Edward Underhill
Gender Queer
by Maia Kobabe
Birthday
by Meredith Russo
The Hazards of Love
by Stan Stanley
Unbecoming
by Seema Yasmin
Cool for the Summer
by Dahlia Adler
Symptoms of Being Human
by Jeff Garvin
Coffeeshop In An Alternate Universe
by C.B. Lee
Cemetery Boys
by Aiden Thomas
Beyond The Gender Binary
by Alok Vaid-Menon
Freakboy
by Kristin Clark
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into The Waters of The World
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
One Of The Boys
by Victoria Zeller
Gay Club!
by Simon James Green
Compound Fracture
by Andrew Joseph White
Felix Ever After
by Kacen Callender
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli
Periods: Ages 9 and up
Factual information about menstruation; fiction in which menstruation is a central theme
Celebrate Your Period
by Amanda D'Almeida
Free Period
by Ali Terese
Welcome to Your Period
by Yumi Stynes
HelloFlo The Guide, Period.
Naama Bloom
Pregnancy – Ages 14-18
Fiction; main character is or becomes pregnant.
Unpregnant
by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan
Truth Is
by Hannah V. Sawyer
Unbecoming
by Seema Yasmin