I have another perfect pick for Pride month for you all today! Pride Puppy by Robin Stevenson is a precious LGBTQ+ rhyming alphabet picture book. Unlike most alphabet books, Pride Puppy is not just a collection of words starting with every letter of the alphabet, but a story featuring a family as they attend a Pride parade.
Our story starts with the family waking up and preparing for their big day – packing everyone in the car, including their pup with a cute little rainbow bandana. But during the festivities, there’s an accident and their puppy gets lost, making a big mess of things as everyone tries to catch him. I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll just say that by the time they get to Z, young readers will be pleased.
I absolutely LOVED the representation in this book. The illustrations have rainbow flags, trans flags, bi flags, two spirit flags, and more. We see folks with a wide range of ages, abilities, races, and genders all celebrating together. There is even representation for colored hair and tattoos! The level of detail and inclusion is absolutely lovely to see, and all the fun bright colors are just icing on the cake.
As someone who is bi, seeing that flag meant the world to me. I have to admit, this is the first time I remember seeing bisexuality specifically represented in children’s literature. I don’t have the words to describe how much it means to me to point to that flag while reading this book with my son and proudly tell him what it means.
Pride Puppy is available now wherever books are sold, including Bookshop and Amazon. (Please note: Some links provided are affiliate links. Affiliate links allow me to receive a small commission for recommendations at no cost to you. This commission is used to maintain this site and to continue bringing content to you. I always appreciate your support!)
Robin Stevenson is an award-winning author of over twenty-five books based in Victoria, Canada. Please visit her website at robinstevenson.com to learn more about her and her work.
Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning freelance illustrator based in Vancouver Island, Canada. To learn more about her and her work, please visit her website at whatwouldjuliedraw.com.
I’m so happy to see more books centering the queer community being published today. I want to thank Orca Book Publishers for sending me a copy of this wonderful book. Now I’m going to cry tears of joy because I get to take my son to his first pride parade this year and I have the perfect book to prepare him for it.