The child protagonist of this delightful book introduces readers to their dad, a transgender woman, and their fun and loving life together. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Mini, a six-year-old who loves kittens more than anything. (Mini’s gender is never stated in the main story, but one of the discussion questions at the end uses “they,” so I’ll follow that; the publisher’s website uses she/her.) After kittens, Mini loves their dad, and shares with readers a bit about one day in their lives, as they help at a cat rescue center and then go to Grampa’s birthday party. (We only ever see Mini’s dad; we don’t know if they have another parent.)
As they get ready for the party, Mini and their dad paint each others’ nails. “My dad is a she!” Mini says. “She used to be a he but now she is a she! Last year she did this thing called transition.” Mini tells readers that this means their dad, Haley, changed her name and pronouns, grew her hair, painted her nails, and started to wear different clothes. While this “sounded a bit scary at first,” Haley reassured Mini that “I will always be your dad and I will always love you very much.” Now, Haley smiles and laughs a lot more, Mini observes.
Part of their dad’s transition involved going to the hospital for surgery, but Mini informs readers that even though their dad’s outsides changed, “inside she’s still my dad.”
At Grampa’s party, they both celebrate with other family members. Mini gently corrects a cousin who uses the wrong pronoun for Haley, explaining that it took them a while to get used to using the new pronouns, too. The book ends with a joyous image of Mini and their dad hugging as Mini informs us that they’re proud to say, “She’s my dad!”
Garcia’s simple, bold, illustrations pop with color and keep the focus on the characters. Mini and Haley are both White; two of their family members are Black. A Reader’s Guide at the end offers a glossary and some questions for discussion, like “Why is it important to use the right pronouns when speaking about someone?” and “What should you do if you refer to someone by the wrong pronouns?”
Savage, a writer, transgender advocate, and one of the stars of the 2011 British television reality show My Transsexual Summer, has written a book that manages to be both explanatory and upbeat. Mini’s explanation of their dad’s gender identity comes from a place of pride, confidence, and love. Too many picture books, even ones that are ultimately supportive, have explained LGBTQ lives only after someone questions or demeans them. (Another recent book that also takes a positive approach like She’s My Dad is Gayle Pitman’s My Maddy
She’s My Dad is much needed, as there are still few picture books about transgender parents. At the same time, we should remember that it is only one story of one trans parent and child. Not all trans parents have the same gender identity as Haley; some might choose to use a different parental title; some might choose not to have gender affirming surgery like Haley did; some might be parenting with a spouse or partner of any gender, to list only a few possibilities. That is in no way a criticism of She’s My Dad; I appreciate Savage’s focus on one family rather than trying to cram in all possibilities. I’d just be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to note that we need yet more books that show these stories—even as we should be glad to have this one.
