What better way to celebrate Pride this year than with three new kids’ books about trans heroes—plus a new chapter book about gender identity!
Click titles or images for full reviews if you want more details about any of the books below—and put these books on your shelves for reading all year long!
Gender Identity
Andy Passchier has already written or illustrated several excellent picture books about gender identity (among various LGBTQ topics), but Gender Identity for Kids (Little, Brown) offers a slightly deeper dive for children moving beyond simple picture books into (still illustrated) chapter books. Passchier explains the difference between sex and gender; gender roles and expectations; what it means to be cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary; and how the gender binary is socially constructed. We also learn about gender expression and exploration (including clothing, pronouns, and more), as well as coming out and dealing with bias, bullying, and gatekeeping around gender. Importantly, Passchier stresses that each reader is the only one who knows whether they are cis, trans, nonbinary, or something else.
Along with the clear and accessible text, Passchier’s always-cheery illustrations help explain topics and add interest to the pages. Five named characters of different gender identities, expressions, and skin color offer ongoing points of reference throughout the book, but are supplemented with unnamed others. Information boxes throughout define key terms.
If you and your kids enjoyed any of the previous books on gender that Passchier has co-written and/or illustrated (including They, He, She: Words for You and Me; Being You: A First Conversation About Gender; and What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns), chances are you’ll enjoy this one, too. If you aren’t familiar with them yet, I encourage you to check them out—and use Gender Identity for Kids when your kids are ready to move beyond them into chapter books. It’s a helpful, affirming volume that should be of great use for this age group.
Biographies of Trans Women
Three different trans women get biographies for three different age groups! (My hope that is someday there will be bios of each of them for each age group.)
Door by Door: How Sarah McBride Became America’s First Openly Transgender Senator, by Meeg Pincus, illustrated by Meridth McKean Gimbel (Crown): Sarah McBride has always known two things: That she “wanted to change the world” and that she “knew who she was inside.” In this warm and inspiring picture-book biography, we follow her from childhood to her groundbreaking achievements as the first openly trans person to work at the White House, speak at the Democratic convention, and be a state senator.
This is a lovely and at times lyrical portrait of McBride, with illustrations that nicely complement the text, showing sweet moments like McBride surrounded by flowers as she celebrates coming out, or of children watching her election win and waving a Pride flag. It’s a solid addition to picture-book biographies of queer heroes and icons.
She Persisted: Rachel Levine, by Lisa Bunker, illustrated by Gillian Flint (Philomel): Part of the chapter book series inspired by the number one New York Times bestseller She Persisted, by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, this biography of Admiral Rachel Levine is thoughtful and informative. Author Lisa Bunker, who is not only a writer but was one of the first few transgender people elected to a state legislature, brings both an awareness of trans identities and an understanding of politics to bear in covering Levine’s life from birth to her appointment as U.S. assistant secretary for health.
Bunker showcases Levine’s accomplishments as a health professional while also exploring where and how her trans identity (or people’s reactions to it) impacted her life. In my admittedly limited cisgender view, she strikes a good balance, neither skimming over Levine’s trans identity nor making this into a story purely about her transitioning and coming out. Levine is more than any one aspect of herself, and Bunker respects that.
Bunker nevertheless also highlights Levine’s numerous firsts in representation for women and trans people, “show[ing] the world that trans women can be leaders and champions.” A final section on “How You Can Persist” offers suggestions for how readers can emulate Levine, by caring for others, working hard, learning about trans lives and respecting trans identities, and living as their authentic selves when they are ready.
Pencil drawings by Gillian Flint complement the text, offering visual interest for readers making the shift from picture books. This is a worthy addition to any home or library collection of women’s, LGBTQ, and/or scientists’ biographies.
Hispanic Star: Sylvia Rivera, by Claudia Romo Edelman and J. Gia Loving, illustrated by Cheyne Gallarde (Roaring Brook Press): This readable and informative middle-grade biography looks at the life of transgender icon Sylvia Rivera from her birth to immigrant, migrant parents through her involvement at Stonewall and activism in helping trans youth. Published by the organization Hispanic Star in partnership with Macmillan, and available in English or Spanish editions, this is a welcome middle-grade biography of a figure who has long been due one. Content warning: Mention of domestic violence and her mother’s death by suicide.