A trans boy who loves football (the U.K.-based author’s term for soccer) stars in this cheery, if pedagogical, story that shows him and supportive adults working to help him be accepted by his team.
Jacob, his parents, and sister love to support their local football team, and Jacob dreams of playing for the team and winning the league. He used to play for a girls’ team, he tells us in the first-person narrative, but after he came out as transgender, started playing for a boys’ team.
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—even though “Being transgender is nothing to be ashamed of,” as Jacob reassures readers. Still, on the day of a big match, his teammates wouldn’t pass him the ball, and when the team lost, they blamed Jacob, saying, “You kick like a girl.”
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, not putting that burden of explanation on Jacob).
This was apparently enough to change the other boys’ minds, since they passed him the ball during the next match. He 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 Jacob triumphantly raising the league-winning trophy.
The story has a clear instructional purpose and takes a perhaps overly optimistic approach to the coach’s acceptance and the teammates’ rapid change of heart. (Adults may also want to explain to young readers that “You kick like a girl,” while wielded here as an insult, should not, in fact, be used as one.) Nevertheless, it shows us the joy that can be had if trans youth are affirmed and supported, 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. If you’re seeking to convey such messages, this is a recommended tale.
Jacob and his family are White.
(Don’t confuse this book with the series of picture books by Sarah and Ian Hoffman starring a gender creative boy named Jacob, beginning with Jacob’s New Dress. Different author, different Jacob.)
