2024 NATIONAL MEDAL
for Museum and Library Service Finalist

Kids

Going Overboard

 

Twelve-year-old Piper Shapiro, a nonbinary middle schooler, struggles with the idea of change, so when their mom starts dating Gwinny, the mother of Piper's classmate Colton, Piper and Colton team up to try to break up the relationship, only to realize that change might not always be bad.

Carousel Summer

When her best friend heads to summer camp, 12-year-old Lucy is left to her own devices in a small town called Milforth. As the season progresses, she navigates a budding romance with confident bisexual visitor Anaïs and comes to understand more about who she is and who she wants to be. Lucy's acts of self-assertion become points of tension in her relationship with her single father, who is facing his own alienation by the community.

Sam!

Nobody knew Sam was a boy except for him. Sam loves riding his bike and learning about the American Revolution. He is full of laughter and joy. There's just one problem: Sam's family knows him as a girl named Isabel. Sam feels a sense of relief when he finally confides in his annoying but caring sister Maggie, and then his parents, even though it takes them a while to feel comfortable with it.

Be Amazing: a History of Pride

Desmond is Amazing is a drag-kid, model, fashion icon, and social justice activist. When he isn't slaying on the catwalk or performing drag, he's an outspoken anti-bullying and LGBTQ advocate. In this uplifting picture book about being yourself, Desmondshows how he can be amazing thanks to courageous people like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and RuPaul who paved the way for a safer, more inclusive society for LGBTQ individuals.

Julian is a Mermaid

While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he's seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress.