A two-dad family (including one dad, a trans man, who is pregnant) is welcoming a new baby! Each spread shows different members of the extended family and community bringing gifts and support–but also offers questions for readers to answer themselves, such as “Who welcomed and celebrated your small person?” and “What songs or music does your small person enjoy?”
Told lovingly by Trystan Reese and Biff Chaplow, The Light of You is modeled after their own family. The main parents and children in the book are White, like them, but extended family and friends show a range of racial/ethnic identities.
One notable spread shows the parents reassuring the brother of the family who “wasn’t sure” about the new baby and the coming changes to the family. This is the only representation of a human child with LGBTQ parents who is expecting a new sibling since the self-published 2009 book, And Baby Makes 4. (There are several books that offer animal analogies, though, as I explain here.) The Light of You isn’t primarily about the sibling’s experience, so it doesn’t fully meet the need for such stories, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Reese has shared his family’s story before in many places, including in How We Do Family, a highly recommended memoir/parenting guidebook for grown-ups, which similarly blends their story with general guidance and questions for readers. This picture book brings a piece of their story to younger readers, but smartly keeps it general enough to appeal to any family wanting to show their children the joy and love with which they were welcomed into the world. At the same time, it will have special appeal to families with trans dads who gave birth and who have had precious little picture-book representation.
