Scholastic has released its 2024 "Read With Pride" guide, urging teachers to include LGBTQ children's books in their curriculum. The guide emphasizes that educators, whether they realize it or not, already interact with queer children in their classrooms. It encourages them to “disrupt the status quo” by offering literature that challenges conventional ideas of gender and sexuality. The guide provides book recommendations for readers as young as preschoolers, including titles like My Moms Love Me and You Are Loved, which highlight same-sex families. For older children, books like Melissa and Moonflower feature trans and non-binary characters. Scholastic asserts that these stories help affirm children's identities and positively impact mental health. The guide also promotes resources like The Trevor Project, which supports LGBTQ youth, claiming that affirming gender identities can help prevent suicide. Despite debates over the impact of social transitions on children's mental health, Scholastic maintains that diverse literature can have life-changing effects on young readers, offering them "authentic representation" and validation. #Queer Up Gay Culture