The WNBA’s landmark 30th season is about to start; the newer PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) is heading into its third-season playoffs; and baseball, soccer, rugby, and other sports are in full swing. Three recent and upcoming picture books happily showcase sports as an integral part of many LGBTQ lives.
Why do these books matter? LGBTQ children and families often have difficult relationships with sports, whether it’s trans kids (particularly trans girls) wanting to play with others of their gender, queer girl athletes being told not to be too masculine, queer boy athletes being taunted for not being masculine enough, nonbinary kids seeking where they belong in the often binary world of sports, or LGBTQ parents and our children being ostracized on the field or in the stands. At the same time, many LGBTQ people and our children have found community, strength, and belonging in sports—and these books may help more to do so.
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Jacob’s Transition Goals: A Story About a Trans Boy Who Loves Football, by Arthur Webber, illustrated by Hui Qing Ang (Jessica Kingsley): Jacob dreams of playing for his local football team (as the U.K.-based author refers to soccer) and winning the league. He used to play for a girls’ team, he tells us, but after he came out as transgender, started playing with the boys.
Jacob then explains to readers what it means to be transgender (“when I was born, doctors said I was a girl, but I realized that I’m a boy”), and how his parents affirmed him and spoke with his coach to gain his support. While the coach was welcoming, though, some of the boys at his school were not. The coach intervened, telling the other boys that they must work together if they want to win. He also had a youth worker from a local LGBTQ+ group meet with them to explain more about being trans. (Importantly, the coach didn’t put that burden of explanation on Jacob.)
During the next match, the other boys included Jacob, who even scored a goal! The story closes with Jacob hoping to impress scouts from the local pro team—and a final image shows a grown-up Jacob triumphantly raising the league-winning trophy.
The story has a clear pedagogical purpose and takes a perhaps overly optimistic approach to the coach’s acceptance and the teammates’ rapid change of heart. It conveys the joy that can be had if trans youth are affirmed and supported, though, and that’s an invaluable message. The image of Jacob as a grown-up is powerful, too, showing young trans boys that they can have a bright future. This story isn’t just for trans boys, however; cisgender children with trans teammates may also learn important lessons—as may the adults in their lives.
The Perfect Match, by Chris Becker, illustrated by Dan Taylor (Nosy Crow): Jack loves when his dad tells him the bedtime story about Leo and the royal soccer match. In it, Leo’s mean brothers never let him play soccer, but instead make him do all the chores. When an invitation to the Royal Soccer Match arrives, Leo knows he won’t be able to attend—until the Hairy Squadfather arrives to magically transform him.
At the match, Leo scores the winning goal for Prince Ollie’s team—but exits the pitch before the magic wears off, leaving a silver cleat behind. Prince Ollie searches high and low for his team’s star, until he finds Leo, whose foot fits the cleat.
That’s Jack’s favorite part of the story—and his dads, King Leo and King Ollie, agree! Without that missing cleat, they never would have found each other and become a family. A final scene shows the three of them playing soccer outside their castle.
This isn’t the first queer picture book take on Cinderella (see Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred, Cinderelliot: A Scrumptious Fairytale, and Cinda Meets Ella: A Fairly Queer Tale, among others), but it’s a fun new twist on the tale. It’s also notable that the villains are not the traditional step-relatives, but simply siblings. (Not that bullying by anyone is good, but it’s best that step-relatives aren’t always the bad folks.) It’s a recommended book and bound to be a story time winner.
Play Proud: Fiercely Fabulous Queer Athletes, by Rob Sanders, illustrated by Izzy Evans (Beaming Books): “Every athlete does their best…. Out and proud, their lifelong quest,” begins this lively, rhyming ode to queer athletes. From well-known stars like Billie Jean King, Greg Louganis, and Megan Rapinoe, to ones that many readers will encounter here for the first time, like weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, NASCAR racer Zach Herrin, decathlete Tom Waddell, and more, the athletes (and a few managers, coaches, and officials) cover a wide range of sports, eras, and identities.
The book is not, however, a collective biography per se. Each page simply offers a verse about a few connected athletes, such as: “Schuyler swam laps in the pool./Greg and Tom made splashing cool,” as bold, dynamic illustrations show them in action. For the picture book age range, though, this feels like a perfect approach to spark young readers’ interest, without overwhelming them with detail. (Backmatter includes additional information for those who want it.) The rhyme and meter keep the narrative moving like an athlete, creating a winning title that both tells us and shows us, “When you’re you, there’s no defeat.”