Fans pick 98 books like Katy Has Two Grampas

By Julie Schanke Lyford, Robert A. Schanke, Mariia Luzina (illustrator)

Here are 98 books that Katy Has Two Grampas fans have personally recommended if you like Katy Has Two Grampas. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of And Tango Makes Three

Thomas Tracy Author Of Scoochie & Skiddles: Scoochie's Adoption Story

From my list on about LGBTQ+ families.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a gay father of two transracially adopted daughters, I am constantly searching for books that feature families like mine. It is important for children to see families that look like theirs represented in their storybooks. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of children’s books spotlighting adoption and even less featuring LGBTQ+ families. I am happy to share this list of some of my favorites that represent diverse/LGBTQ+ families.   

Thomas' book list on about LGBTQ+ families

Thomas Tracy Why did Thomas love this book?

It is hard to imagine that And Tango Makes Three was revolutionary and controversial in 2015 when it was published, but it was. However, it is one of those books that paved the way for greater diversity in children’s literature. Like so many powerful books, And Tango Makes Three is based on the real experiences of two male penguins raising a baby penguin. It is a staple book for the personal libraries of all families interested in promoting family diversity. 

By Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, Henry Cole (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked And Tango Makes Three as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

One of the six political books for kids you should definitely read according to Zoe Williams in the Guardian, November 2018!

Roy and Silo are just like the other penguin couples at the zoo - they bow to each other, walk together and swim together. But Roy and Silo are a little bit different - they're both boys.

Then, one day, when Mr Gramzay the zookeeper finds them trying to hatch a stone, he realises that it may be time for Roy and Silo to become parents for real.


Book cover of The Family Book

Thomas Tracy Author Of Scoochie & Skiddles: Scoochie's Adoption Story

From my list on about LGBTQ+ families.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a gay father of two transracially adopted daughters, I am constantly searching for books that feature families like mine. It is important for children to see families that look like theirs represented in their storybooks. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of children’s books spotlighting adoption and even less featuring LGBTQ+ families. I am happy to share this list of some of my favorites that represent diverse/LGBTQ+ families.   

Thomas' book list on about LGBTQ+ families

Thomas Tracy Why did Thomas love this book?

I love all of Todd Parr’s work, as he takes hard topics and makes them easy. The Family Book is no different. This book celebrates families of all types, regardless of composition. Parr normalizes difference by beautifully illustrating that no one family is the same and all families are special. You can’t help but feel like you’ve been wrapped in a warm blanket when you read Parr’s books.  

By Todd Parr,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Family Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Some families have two moms or two dads. Some families have one parent instead of two.
Some families live in a house by themselves. Some families share a house with other families.
All families can help each other be strong!

The Family Book celebrates families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether they're big or small, look alike or different, have a single parent or two, Todd Parr assures readers that every family is special in its own unique way.


Book cover of Love Makes a Family

Thomas Tracy Author Of Scoochie & Skiddles: Scoochie's Adoption Story

From my list on about LGBTQ+ families.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a gay father of two transracially adopted daughters, I am constantly searching for books that feature families like mine. It is important for children to see families that look like theirs represented in their storybooks. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of children’s books spotlighting adoption and even less featuring LGBTQ+ families. I am happy to share this list of some of my favorites that represent diverse/LGBTQ+ families.   

Thomas' book list on about LGBTQ+ families

Thomas Tracy Why did Thomas love this book?

Love Makes a Family is simply wonderful. It affirms the message that the definition of family transcends any formula or normative expectation. What defines a family is the love that is shared between the people in it. The book doesn’t preach and it doesn’t lecture. It simply focuses on love and, quite frankly, we need more of that kind of message in the world.

By Sophie Beer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Makes a Family as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This fun, inclusive board book celebrates the one thing that makes every family a family . . . and that's LOVE.

Love is baking a special cake. Love is lending a helping hand. Love is reading one more book. In this exuberant board book, many different families are shown in happy activity, from an early-morning wake-up to a kiss before bed. Whether a child has two moms, two dads, one parent, or one of each, this simple preschool read-aloud demonstrates that what's most important in each family's life is the love the family members share.


Book cover of Two Dads: A Book About Adoption

Thomas Tracy Author Of Scoochie & Skiddles: Scoochie's Adoption Story

From my list on about LGBTQ+ families.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a gay father of two transracially adopted daughters, I am constantly searching for books that feature families like mine. It is important for children to see families that look like theirs represented in their storybooks. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of children’s books spotlighting adoption and even less featuring LGBTQ+ families. I am happy to share this list of some of my favorites that represent diverse/LGBTQ+ families.   

Thomas' book list on about LGBTQ+ families

Thomas Tracy Why did Thomas love this book?

This book gets triple points in my opinion, as it specifically addresses adoption by two dads who are an interracial couple. There are very few children’s books that cover all of these topics and even fewer that do it as simplistic and easy as this one. We have this one in our personal library and it has been one of our go-to books for helping our own daughter who my husband and I adopted.  

By Carolyn Robertson, Sophie Humphreys (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Two Dads as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Having Two Dads is double the fun! Many families are different, this family has Two Dads. A beautifully illustrated, affirming story of life with Two Dads, written from the perspective of their adopted child.


Book cover of Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

Hannah Farber Author Of Underwriters of the United States: How Insurance Shaped the American Founding

From my list on American outcasts, oddballs, and one-of-a-kinds.

Why am I passionate about this?

People sometimes say that the purpose of anthropology is to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar. I think the same about history. As these books demonstrate, apparently normal early Americans have complex and unique inner lives, while those who seem bizarre, remote, or august, in fact, have wholly relatable human experiences. I usually write about complicated systems, like insurance and law. But I cherish these books about outcasts, oddballs, and one-of-a-kinds. They remind me that our society comprises individuals whose life experiences, worldviews, and decisions are unique—and ultimately unpredictable. Whenever I write, I try to remember that.

Hannah's book list on American outcasts, oddballs, and one-of-a-kinds

Hannah Farber Why did Hannah love this book?

This book is for anyone whose family had open secrets—shocking, taboo, untraditional stories that could be tolerated as long as they remained unspoken. Rachel Hope Cleves thinks sometimes we should just say the secret out loud.

Shrugging off a scholarly tradition of delicacy and caution about sexuality in history, she marches into Charity and Sylvia's tiny New England bedroom and says: yes, these two women loved each other, yes, they considered themselves husband and wife, and yes, they definitely had sex. How do we know? How did their small town tolerate this? How could they have been church leaders?

I had all these questions, and Cleves answered them. Charity and Sylvia's poignant, astonishing story makes me wonder: what else is right in front of my eyes that I'm not seeing? 

By Rachel Hope Cleves,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Charity and Sylvia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Charity and Sylvia is the intimate history of two ordinary women who lived in an extraordinary same-sex marriage during the early nineteenth century. Based on diaries, letters, and poetry, among other original documents, the research traces the women's lives in sharp detail. Charity Bryant was born in 1777 to a consumptive mother who died a month later. Raised in Massachusetts, Charity developed into a brilliant and strong-willed woman with a passion for her
own sex. After being banished from her family home by her father at age twenty, she traveled throughout Massachusetts, working as a teacher, making intimate female friends,…


Book cover of Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality

Marianne Wesson Author Of A Death at Crooked Creek: The Case of the Cowboy, the Cigarmaker, and the Love Letter

From my list on characters behind famous legal proceedings.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a law professor, I always regretted one aspect of the severely edited case reports in the textbooks that I taught from. Eager to get to the main point— analyzing the law that would govern the decision—they seemed to give only the most cursory account of the interesting parts of the story: what happened, who made it happen, and whom did it happen to? I worried that students would take on board the implicit message that the people whose lives were entangled in the law didn’t matter much compared to the law’s lofty majesty. This list and my own book represent my protest against this mistaken idea.

Marianne's book list on characters behind famous legal proceedings

Marianne Wesson Why did Marianne love this book?

This highly readable book allows us to hear from one of the actual parties to a Supreme Court case. Jim Obergefell and his co-author, Debbie Cenziper, invite us into the twined lives of Obergefell and his beloved, John Arthur. 

In 2013 Obergefell and Arthur, who was dying painfully from ALS, flew from their home in Ohio to Maryland, where gay marriage was recognized, to exchange vows. But Ohio refused to acknowledge their marriage and would insist that Arthur’s death certificate must describe him as single. As Arthur lay on his deathbed, he and Obergefell contracted with civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein to pursue the lawsuit that would become Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Supreme Court held that the states must recognize same-sex marriages. Gerhardstein always insisted that every civil rights case starts with a story. This one could melt a heart of stone.

By Debbie Cenziper, Jim Obergefell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Wins as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twenty-one years ago when Jim Obergefell walked into a bar in Cincinnatti and sat down next to John Arthur, the man who would become the love of his life, he had no way of knowing that following the sad loss of John to Motor Neurone Disease his fight to have their marriage recognised on John's death certificate would lead him from the courthouses of Cincinnati to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and ultimately into the history books.

Jim Obergefell is representative of the 32 plaintiffs in the case "Obergefell v Hodges", arguably the biggest civil rights case of…


Book cover of Blue Heaven

Kevin Klehr Author Of Winter Masquerade

From my list on gay themed not about romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I usually write queer fiction with an urban fantasy or magic realism bent, although I’ve dabbled in dystopian novels and a couple of romance novellas. I have an interest in bringing to light modern queer works that aren’t rooted in erotica or romance because I know firsthand the misconceptions that are placed on writers of gay fiction. And too often I’ve had to find tactful ways to explain what I write when people assume I’m limited by genre.

Kevin's book list on gay themed not about romance

Kevin Klehr Why did Kevin love this book?

This is the first of a trilogy of which any book in the series is worth reading. In this farce written long before marriage equality, a gay man hatches an outlandish scheme to throw a wedding, just for the expensive gifts. What follows is a comedy that incorporates blackmail and the mafia. You read this novel for pure pleasure, enjoying the clever one-liners while the plot spirals out of control. Flamboyant, camp, and ridiculously funny.

By Joe Keenan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Blue Heaven as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Set in contemporary New York, this book revolves around four characters, all either unemployed or barely employed. The calamities begin when Gilbert, who is gay, and Moira, an arch bitch, devise a seemingly brilliant plan to swindle their respective monied families - by getting married.


Book cover of Prince & Knight: Tale of the Shadow King

Mark Ceilley Author Of Cinderelliot: A Scrumptious Fairytale

From my list on GLBTQ+ love story picture books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I identify as a member of the GLBTQ+ community. My husband and I had a church wedding. I have written several stories that have GLBTQ+ representation and are love stories. I have also read and familiarized myself with many GLBTQ+ children’s books. 

Mark's book list on GLBTQ+ love story picture books

Mark Ceilley Why did Mark love this book?

In this follow-up to Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack, our two heroes fight a dark shadow spread over the kingdom. Their love is tested when the prince saves the knight’s life from beasts and monsters. When they reach the Shadow King, the cause of the darkness,  he sees the love between the prince and knight, which gives him hope for the future. He realizes that it’s okay to love someone of the same gender.

The book has beautiful messages of acceptance, forgiveness, and being proud of your own authentic self. The illustrations are charming, like an animated film.

By Daniel Haack, Stevie Lewis (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Prince & Knight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

This follow-up to Prince & Knight is an inclusive, modern fairy tale for young readers!

Praise for Prince & Knight:
"Victorious . . . the premier queer-friendly fairy tale." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An illuminating fairy tale for young readers to be able to see that not every prince would like to marry a princess." -School Library Journal

"A colorful and entertaining tale exploring sexuality, acceptance, and young love." -Booklist

Have you heard the thrilling tale
of the prince and his dear knight?
Their love for one another
inspired everyone in sight.

Our brave and dashing heroes, the prince and…


Book cover of Two Grooms on a Cake: The Story of America's First Gay Wedding

Mark Ceilley Author Of Cinderelliot: A Scrumptious Fairytale

From my list on GLBTQ+ love story picture books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I identify as a member of the GLBTQ+ community. My husband and I had a church wedding. I have written several stories that have GLBTQ+ representation and are love stories. I have also read and familiarized myself with many GLBTQ+ children’s books. 

Mark's book list on GLBTQ+ love story picture books

Mark Ceilley Why did Mark love this book?

I highly recommend this book because it is a great history lesson about the first gay marriage in 1971 when Jack Baker and Michael McConnell struggled to get a marriage license in Minnesota. They appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the case was dismissed. It wasn’t until 2013, when Minnesota made it legal for gay marriage that Jack and Michael’s marriage was finally publicly acknowledged. Two years later, in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality.

This story resonates with me personally because my husband and I live in Minnesota, where we were married in 2014. 

By Rob Sanders, Robbie Cathro (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Two Grooms on a Cake as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

As seen on The TODAY Show!

"Sanders tells the tale in easy-to-understand language, sweet as the frosting on the cake. . . . As beautiful as it is informative about this little-known battle in the fight for equality." -Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"Their heartwarming story-accessible to young readers-demonstrates that the essential ingredient in a cake and a marriage is love. Cathro's affectionate illustrations-with vintage 1970s' colors and vibes-not only expand the text but also capture its sweet spirit exactly." -Booklist

This is the story of Jack Baker and Michael McConnell and their inspiring story becoming the first married gay couple…


Book cover of Our Wives Under the Sea

Ephiny Gale Author Of Pick Your Potion

From my list on speculative books with sapphic main characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been eager to read weird, speculative, sapphic stories, but they were difficult to find throughout my early life. As a teenager, I started to write them, creating what I hoped to see in the world, and I haven’t stopped since. I’m thrilled to see that this niche is becoming more common and celebrated, particularly in the more experimental short fiction space. As an adult, I’ve had many weird, speculative, sapphic short stories and novelettes published, including one that won the Best of the Net award and two that were shortlisted for Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror.

Ephiny's book list on speculative books with sapphic main characters

Ephiny Gale Why did Ephiny love this book?

I view this book as an equal mix of cosmic deep-sea horror, exploration of loneliness, and marital devotion.

I really appreciate that this book follows two flawed women across multiple periods of time, on land and in the deep sea, and across the full length of their relationship. The weight of one of them disappearing beneath the ocean for months profoundly affects both of them–mentally, emotionally, and physically–in different and weird ways, but underneath everything is an enduring love.

I particularly enjoyed the slow-moving body horror in this one, plus the escalating creep of being stuck at the bottom of the ocean for months and the overarching terror of losing the one you love.

By Julia Armfield,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Our Wives Under the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named as book to look out for in 2022 by Guardian, i-D, Autostraddle, Bustle, Good Housekeeping, Stylist and DAZED.

Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home.

To have the woman she loves back should mean a return…


Book cover of And Tango Makes Three
Book cover of The Family Book
Book cover of Love Makes a Family

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