This Day in June

"The pride primer." —The New Yorker

An excellent tool for teaching respect, acceptance, and understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

This day in June…. Parade starts soon…. Rainbow arches…. Joyful marches!

In a wildly whimsical, validating, and exuberant reflection of the LGBTQ+ community, This Day In June welcomes readers to experience a pride celebration and share in a day when we are all united. Also included is a Note to Parents and Other Caregivers with information on how to talk to children about sexual orientation and gender identity in age-appropriate ways as well as a Reading Guide chock-full of facts about LGBTQ+ history and culture.

• A Top Ten Title, American Library Association Rainbow List
• Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society Awards
• Named one of the most important books of the last decade by The Advocate's “40 Under 40” list
• Top 11 Most Challenged Books by American Library Association
• Winner, Stonewall Book Award—Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award

Gayle E. Pitman, PhD, is a professor of psychology and women's studies at Sacramento City College. Her teaching and writing focuses on gender and sexual orientation, and she has worked extensively with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

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Kristyna Litten studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art. Kristyna is influenced by books and animation from Eastern Europe which has led to a fascination for illustrating and writing her own picture books full of lovable characters and charming narratives. She prefers to draw quickly to give an energetic line quality to her illustrations, often adding color and other hand-produced textures digitally.

“The pride primer.”—The New Yorker

Top 11 Most Challenged Books by American Library Association (joined by Two Boys Kissing by David Leviathan, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Judy Sherman Alexie, Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner, This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, and George by Alex Gino)

• Winner, Stonewall Book Award—Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award
• A Top Ten Title, American Library Association Rainbow List
• Winner, Notable Books for a Global Society Awards
• Named one of the most important books of the last decade by The Advocate's “40 Under 40” list

Author interviewed in New York Times—"’Heather Has Two Mommies’ Is Still Relevant 30 Years Later"

When you reach the last of this book, you will immediately turn to the beginning pages to read it all over again.
—Pride Agenda

It's a children's book about queer history and diversity. I love that it teaches tolerance and acceptance and makes pride something everyone can celebrate. The book also includes a reading guide for parents.
—Erica Anderson, The Advocate "40 Under 40" Most Important Books of the Last Decade

If you purchase just one new picture book this year, it should be This Day in June.
—Magpie Librarian (Blog of American Library Association Rainbow List director)

The bouncy rhymes convey feelings and snapshots of parade scenes rather than a narrative storyline, but that doesn't lessen the book's impact. We're introduced to dykes on bikes, people in leather, drag queens and others of varying gender expressions, politicians, marching bands, and parents with their children. The diverse characters in Kristyna Litten's colorful illustrations jump and dance and swirl.
—Bay Windows

The text of Gayle E. Pitman's flows like poetry from page to page and is partnered with the joyous illustrations by Kristyna Litten.
—EDGE on the Net

Curious children who are learning about gender, identity, and self-expression will love learning about the diverse and unwavering LGBT community in a colorful book that celebrates pride. Parents who are eager to talk to their kids about the ways in which people are different, or about LGBT Pride month in general will find that This Day In June provides excellent context and serves as a conversation starter.
—One Equal World

This beautifully illustrated book is a great addition to a school or personal library to add diversity in a responsible manner without contributing to stereotypes about LGBT people.
—School Library Journal

A beautifully illustrated, and beautifully explained, look at Pride through the eyes of a child…The story does an excellent job of turning images that some frame as negative — men dancing together, interracial couples, nonconforming gender presentations — into aspects that should be celebrated. The book ends with the words, "This day in June, we're all united!" an inspiring message that should be just as uplifting for adults as it is affirming for youth.
—Philadelphia Gay News

This Day In June adds a bright spot for diversity on any bookshelf, and will help bring the true colors and beautiful experience of LGBT pride to life for school age children and their families
—Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Family Project

Pitman, in her first book for children, salutes the LGBT parades that take place across the U.S. in June. Her couplets keep things marching steadily forward, but it's Litten's artwork that creates a sense of joyous excitement and showcases the diversity on display.
—Publishers Weekly

This Day in June is the pride parade picture book queer parents have been waiting for since, oh, 1970. We've needed something that captured the joy and exuberance of the event, and something that helped kids picture the glorious range of gender expression and queer fabulousness that is so righteously on display at Pride (and by contrast so absent in most of our kids' everyday lives). We've wanted a sweet, playful opportunity to talk in advance about what they'll see, what it'll be like. We've wanted to help them get as excited as we do, in anticipation, and have a way to share it with their friends.
—VillageQ.com

Intended for children ages four through eight — but absolutely a book every PFLAGer will want on their shelf — the book serves as an excellent tool for teaching respect, understanding, and affirmation of LGBTQ people.
—PFLAG Voice blog