March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate trans and non-binary friends. It is also a day to recognize how hard it can be to be transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming, and to raise our voices to bring awareness and support. We can help our kiddos become advocates by reading books like these, and I’d love to hear your recommendations too.
Looking for additional resources? The Human Rights Campaign works with Welcoming Schools to create a great booklist every year. Here’s the Welcoming Schools booklist for 2021.
If you choose to make a purchase through the affiliate links below, I may earn a commission (thanks!). But as always, check your local library first.
Jack (Not Jackie) (Amazon and Bookshop) by Erica Silverman, illustrated by Holly Hatam. Told from a sibling perspective, where a big sister realizes her little sibling would rather play with bugs and be called Jack (definitely not Jackie). I love this book for addressing the big feelings of both siblings.
Max On The Farm (Amazon and Bookshop) by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Luciano Lozano. Where Max, a trans kids, and his bestie Teresa find some gender stereotype bending mischief on a class field trip. We love all the books in this series… we happened to read Max on the Farm first, but Call Me Max and Max and the Talent Show are fabulous too. Bonus, Lozano is also the illustrator of the beloved Boys Dance!
My Rainbow (Amazon and Bookshop) by mother and daughter team DeShanna and Trinity Neal, illustrated by Art Twink. Trinity wants long hair like her dolls, and the family jumps in to create the exact perfect wig. And the illustrations! Love!
Neither (Amazon and Bookshop) by Airlie Anderson. Neither is a beautiful yellowish greenish blueish creature, not quite a bird and not quite a rabbit. But in a world of just rabbits or birds (who are both quite judgie), little Neither isn’t fitting in. Luckily Neither comes to the Land of All and finds a rainbow of welcoming and diverse creatures.. But when rabbits and birds start to arrive in the Land of All, what will Neither think? We had great conversations about how the rabbits and birds could have been more inclusive in the first place.
Red: A Crayon’s Story (Amazon and Bookshop) by Michael Hall. “Red” is a blue crayon. But with red wrapping, all the other crayons get confused. His teacher tries to make him draw red strawberries, but he just can’t. The other crayons, plus the tape and the scissors, try to “help” but they’re really not listening. It’s so frustrating! Thankfully someone comes along who encourages him to try drawing blue things like the ocean, and then suddenly all the crayons understand blue for who he really is. You’ll be holding back tears / cheering along at the end!
A Princess of Great Daring! (Buy directly ) by Tobi Hill-Meyer, illustrated by Elenore Toczynski. Jamie wants to tell her friends that she’s a girl inside, but she’s afraid of what they might say. So she turns it into a game where she is a courageous princess (and there’s a dragon!). It’s a heartwarming story of friendship and adventure. Good for more like the Kingergarten and older crowd.
She’s My Dad!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative (Amazon and Bookshop) by Sarah Savage, illustrated by Joules Garcia. A simple and bright #OwnVoices book about Mini, a kiddo whose dad transitioned a year ago and now goes by she. Mini loves kitties and loves her dad.
Looking for more? See if you can check off all 100 Children’s Books to Read in 2021!
Image credit for A Princess of Great Daring: Flamingo Rampant micropress. Image credit for transgender flag Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash