One day, the boy finds a key. The magic key leads him on an adventure exploring a magical world of rainbow colours. This novel is written on a grand scale, spanning a period from the 1840s to 1905, a time of great change in societal norms and industry. We follow the changing patterns of love and marriage in 3 generations of the Brangwens. Lawrence also weaves in religion, sexuality, the natural world, industrialization, homosexuality and women’s rights, to name a few. Rainbow (Weather Ready-to-Reads) was written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by John Wallace. This early reader uses simple text and gentle, colorful illustrations to introduce kids to rainbows and where they come from. YA authors David Levithan and Billy Merrell teamed up to put together this collection of poems, essays, and stories by LGBTQ+ youth. The rainbow spectrum on the cover reflects the wide range of experiences featured within. Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno TW for mentions of suicide and suicide attempt. The Summer of Jordi Pérez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

But these are not conventionally Christian people: they seek and submit to the forces of nature, their physical desires, free of guilt and shame. They marvel at creation, and worship it and each other through the medium of their mingling, tingling flesh. A deep, true sacrament. (Yet when this was banned shortly after publication, it was on the grounds of obscenity, rather than blasphemy: lesbianism alluded to, though nowadays, any outrage comes from the fact that one is the teacher of the other.) His pride was bolstered up, his blood ran once more in pride. But there was no core to him: as a distinct male he had no core. His triumphant, flaming, overweening heart of the intrinsic male would never beat again. He would be subject now, reciprocal, never the indomitable thing with a core of overweening, unabateable fire. She had abated that fire, she had broken him.

Bake a Rainbow Cake! was written by Amirah Kassem. This interactive board book encourages little ones to bake a brightly colored cake with all the colors of the rainbow. Lydia submits to a marriage, but with her eyes wide open, and refuses to become what her husband wants her to be. Anna, in many ways spoiled with too much freedom, rebels and tries to break her husband, only to discover that the cost to both of them is too great. Her rebellion is short lived, and she gives herself over to her children, but in Ursula we can see the joining of her grandmother and mother in questioning the strictures of a society imposed submission to a man. An inclusive look at the LGBT+ community by YouTuber Ash Hardell. From in-depth definitions to useful infographics, The ABC’s of LGBT+ is perfect for anyone looking to better understand what it means to be LGBT+, whether for themselves or others. And Hardell’s personal anecdotes make it all the more relatable. Girl Hearts Girl by Lucy Sutcliffe From the publisher: “Emotions are as bright and unique as rainbows. The Rainbow Book explores the relationship between colors and sentiments they might inspire.” A photographic history of the queer liberation movement from its 19th century roots through Stonewall and up to today. Kindred: 12 Queer #LoveOzYA Stories, Edited by Michael Earp

Tom is the second husband for Lydia, which unbalances the relationship. Tom is caught up in the grand passions of his desire for his wife, but she doesn’t gulp her passions like he does. She sips them. She is more measured because she, in so many ways, has been made older from her past experiences in more than just years. She turned, and saw a great white moon looking at her over the hill. And her breast opened to it, she was cleaved like a transparent jewel to its light. She stood filled with the moon, offering herself. Her two breasts opened to make way for it, her body opened wide like a quivering anemone, a soft, dilated invitation touched by the moon.” Lawrence considered this, rightly so, to be a feminist novel. Barbara Hardy, in the introduction, gives this thought an intriguing twist. ”Ursula is the first woman in English fiction who is imagined as having the need and courage for a sexual odyssey.” Ursula rails at one point, Why can’t I love a hundred men? Why must I choose one? The adventures of Ursula continue in Women in Love. I will, of course, be continuing my wrestling match with Lawrence. I would say, at this point, it might be a draw. I can only hope he is as spent as I am and will be content to lie a bit and stare at the sky and contemplate the odysseys of these women before we have to grapple once again.

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It is in the second half of the novel where Ursula, the main protagonist and the third generation of the Brangwen women, epitomizes the combative terrain of human relationships in dark, fluid and almost metaphysical eroticism that transcends gender, class or any other categorization, setting the foundations for the sequel to this novel “Women in Love”. It was not, he had to learn, that she would not want him enough, as much as he demanded that she should want him. It was that she could not. She could only want him in her own way, and to her own measure. And she had spent much of life before he found her as she was, the woman who could take him and give him fulfilment. She had taken him and given him fulfilment. She still would do so, in her own times and ways. But he must control himself, measure himself to her.” Each Twinkl Originals story comes with a collection of teaching resources to support cross-curricular learning. Plum trees, “All glittering and snowy and delighted with the sunshine, in full bloom under a blue sky. They threw out their blossom, they flung it about under the blue heavens.”

This rainbow-fisted anthology features writing from LGBTQ+ YA authors is a true celebration of what it means to be loud and proud. All the Invisible Things by Orlagh Collins In seven-inch heels, performing as Glamrou, Amrou Al-Kadhi feels empowered and fearless, able to be fully themself. But it wasn’t always easy growing up in an Iraqi Muslim family. In Unicorn, Al-Kadhi tells the story of how finding themself—and drag—eventually helped them find hope, forgiveness, and a newfound relationship with their mother. Sensible Footwear: A Girl’s Guide by Kate Charlesworth Little Owl’s Colors was written by Divya Srinivasan. This board book follows the adorable Little Owl around the forest, exploring the many colors found there. The pure love came in sunbeams between them, when she was like a flower in the sun to him… feeling the radiance from the Almighty beat through him like a pulse, as he stood in the upright flame of praise, transmitting the pulse of Creation.”She did not know him as himself. But she knew him as the man. She looked at him as a woman in childbirth looks at the man who begot the child in her: an impersonal look, in the extreme hour, female to male. Her eyes closed again. A great, scalding peace went over him, burning his heart and his entrails, passing off into the infinite.” Whilst having a Compact Disc Digital Audio layer, the DualDisc did not conform fully to Red Book standards The moon! The flames! After a Victorian age known for sexual repression, Lawrence in 1915 is unapologetically Dionysian; some words/themes that recur: The necessity for a spirituality/religion that embraces the body, sexuality, desire, instead of harshly renouncing it; Lawrence loves words such as fecund/fecundity, passion, ecstasy. Also soul. Instinct trumps reason and deliberation. Thought shapes society, but it also has the potential to undermine the growth of the self. The earthy working-class body! All the Goodreads romance readers should read this book! Here’s a couple samples where Lawrence brings the heat: Light Makes a Rainbow was written by Sharon Coan. This easy to read book teaches kids about rainbows and how they are made. The book includes an index, a glossary, and more nonfiction text features.