12 Kids’ Books from 2023 With Transgender Characters
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!
transgender children
A Trans Boy Tells His Own True Story in Middle-Grade Memoir
For Transgender Day of Visibility, I can think of no better book to highlight than this engaging middle-grade memoir by a young trans teen himself, telling his own childhood story. It feels like a vital, potentially lifesaving book at this moment in time.
“We Have to Be Relentless”: Making Progress for LGBTQ Families in 2023
After a 2022 that brought a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, reproductive rights setbacks, and other challenges for LGBTQ families, where should we focus our efforts to make progress in 2023? Several leading experts shared their thoughts with me.
“Exceptionally Challenging”: A 2022 Year in Review for LGBTQ Families
What were the major advances—and setbacks—for LGBTQ families in 2022? I asked several leading experts to share their thoughts, and all agreed there had been many obstacles—but also reasons for hope.
20 Books for Kids and Parents for Trans Awareness Week and Beyond
It’s Transgender Awareness Week, so I’m rounding up some of this year’s great books featuring trans people—picture and board books, middle grade titles, and books for parents!
Watch: Stella Keating, a 16-Year-Old Transgender Girl, Testifies for Equality Act
Today, at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equality Act, the most powerful testimony came from 16-year-old Stella Keating, a high school sophomore, a transgender girl, and a possible future senator (or even president) herself.
Teamwork Counts: Why I Support Trans Girls in Girls’ Sports
Those who have met me, even briefly, know one thing about me: I’m small. I stand 5’0″ in my socks and I’m not too hefty. I’ve been an athlete all my life, though, and have almost always competed against opponents who are taller and heavier. That’s only one of the reasons why I don’t understand those who want to limit transgender girls’ participation in girls’ sports.
In Memoriam: Monica Roberts, Transgender Activist and Mentor
The LGBTQ community has lost a light this week. Monica Roberts, a groundbreaking transgender journalist and blogger, died in Houston at age 58. She started her blog, TransGriot, shortly after I began this one. I had the honor of meeting her at several conferences, and was always struck by her strength, knowledge, and commitment to lifting up trans youth.
A Shining New Novel About a Transgender Child and Her Parents
Transgender children have been much in the headlines after President Trump rescinded Title IX protections for trans students. That would be enough to make Laurie Frankel’s new novel, about parents raising a trans daughter, relevant and timely. This Is How It Always Is would, however, be an exceptional book about parenting, family, and identity at any time.
Watch: “Holy” Video of Transgender, Gender Expansive Kids
“Holy,” the first video from the new children’s album celebrating transgender and gender expansive children may just bring tears of joy to your eyes. Watch.
