It’s Transgender Awareness Week and National Young Readers Week, which means it’s time for a roundup of some great picture, chapter, and middle grade books from 2023 with trans characters!
Click images for full reviews—and for ones from previous years, see my roundups of “20 Books for Kids and Parents for Trans Awareness Week and Beyond” from last year; “Recent Children’s Books with Transgender Characters” from 2021; and of course browse the entire Database of LGBTQ Family Books for even more books with trans and other LGBTQ characters.
I’ve covered books with trans parents recently in “14 Kids’ Books Featuring Transgender Parents,” so the books below are ones with young trans people and non-parent trans adults. (I’m also covering trans biographies in a separate post soon—stay tuned!)
Picture Books
You Need to Chill! by Juno Dawson, illustrated by Laura Hughes (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky). A girl wittily answers peers who wonder what happened to her brother, now living his true identity as a trans boy.
Chapter Books
Monster and Me 4: Too Cool for School and Monster and Me 5: The Impossible Imp by Cort Lane, illustrated by
Ankitha Kini (Little Bee). The latest volumes in the early reader series starring science-loving Freddy von Frankenstein, monster big brother, F.M., and were-cat sister, Riya, who live on a supernatural mountain in Nepal. Their friend Binsa is trans, and while the stories don’t dwell on her trans identity, neither do they ignore it when it feels relevant for the character.
Middle Grade
Dotson: My Journey Growing Up Transgender, by Grayson Lee White, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson (West Margin Press). A memoir by a trans teen about his transition journey from age 2 to the present, showing how trans youth can thrive when they have support and affirmation.
Flor Fights Back: A Stonewall Riots Survival Story, by Joy Michael Ellison, illustrated by Francesca Ficorilli (Stone Arch Books). An engaging novel of historical fiction with a young trans protagonist of color, set in New York City at the time of the Stonewall Riots.
Almond, Quartz, and Finch, Lisa Bunker (New Wind). A fantasy novel that explores gender identity, cultural differences, growing up, and belonging. The story not only includes gender diverse characters, but also centers a culture with a belief in choosing one’s own gender.
Joy, to the World, by Kai Shappley and Lisa Bunker (Clarion). When Joy’s school principal says she can’t be on the school cheerleading team because she’s not a girl, she decides to challenge him, and later to speak out against anti-trans legislation in the state.
Dear Mothman, by Robin Gow (Amulet). A touching, elegantly crafted, and unique novel in verse about an autistic, transgender boy moving through grief to find friendship, growth, and belonging.
The House That Whispers, by Lin Thompson (Little, Brown). A story about family change of many types, a possibly haunted house, and one trans boy navigating it all.
Jude Saves the World, by Ronnie Riley (Scholastic). A warm-hearted story about LGBTQ kids supporting each other and making change in their community,
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels, by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell. An original tale of mystery and mayhem centered on an eccentric family living in a sprawling, ancient manor house. The trans character isn’t the protagonist, but is significant, and her transness is neither ignored nor made the focus.
The Ojja-Wojja, by Magdalene Visaggio, illustrated by Jenn St-Onge (Balzer & Bray). Val, White and autistic, and Lanie, Asian and transgender, have bonded over their geekiness and mutual outsider status. When Val’s school project accidentally summons the mysterious Ojja-Wojja spirit, it’s up to them and a small group of other outsiders to save the town. A tremendously fun graphic novel.
