picture book recs (round 9)

Okay, back to a 6-month rhythm! (And back to not reading/loving a lot of picturebooks -- but hey, you get a blurb about each book.)

• Weather Together by Jessie Sima -- not necessarily my favorite of the Kelp and Nimbus books, but a nice story about ~depression and friendship
• The Good Hair Day written by Christian Trimmer & illustrated by J Yang -- a boy who wants long hair but struggles to tell his parents, despite having positive role models
• The Wishing Flower written by A.J. Irving & illustrated by Kip Alizadeh -- a girl with a crush on another girl!
• Big written by & illustrated by Vashti Harrison -- protagonist is a fat Black girl. being Big is praised for kids ("you're such a big kid!") up to a point, and this book powerfully highlights that tension.
• Every Body: A Celebration of Diverse Abilities photography by Shelley Rotner -- really thorough and diverse representation in photographs and text of various disabilities (including learning/intellectual disabilities, as well as physical disabilities) that acknowledges difference directly and matter-of-factly; I have some quibbles with the Glossary, but it's generally good enough
• Timid written & illustrated by Harry Woodgate -- a light-skinned kid (they/them pronouns) named Timmy who loves performing ... until there's an audience. this book is so fun! (though the ending is arguably a bit rushed)
• Hold That Thought! written by Bree Galbraith & illustrated by Lynn Scurfield -- brown-skinned Finn (they/them pronouns) has an idea -- which gets bigger and more colorful as they share it with others
• How Are You, Verity? written by Meghan Wilson Duff & illustrated by Taylor Barron -- an autistic Black kid (they/them pronouns) named Verity who loves sea life and struggles some with social scripts
• I Just Want to Be Super written by Andrew Katz & illustrated by Tony Luzano -- the author wrote about his process: "What did it feel like to be bursting with energy? To want to blast into action, like a superhero raring to use their powers, only to have everyone always telling you to hold back that impulse?"
• [board book] My Hair Is Like the Sun written by St. Clair Detrick-Jules & illustrated by Tabitha Brown -- photographs of Black kids paired with simple illustrations of the natural world
• Big Bad Wolf’s Yom Kippur written by David Sherrin & illustrated by Martín Morón -- even Big Bad Wolves can repent and change!

sapphic soccer books

Someone I follow on GoodReads entered a GR Giveaway for a sapphic soccer book coming out later this year -- which is different from the sapphic soccer book I saw on a recent Autostraddle list of "81 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Your Way Summer 2023." They're both World Cup books, and it occurred to me that this timing is maybe because the World Cup is this summer.

So I started looking for other sapphic soccer books -- and there aren't a lot, but I did find some sapphic/lesbian book review lists, which generated a bunch more (many of them ebooks). I haven't read any of them, so can't personally vouch for quality.

Blockquotes are official blurbs.

Asterisks indicate World Cup themed books.

***

First, books that have 2 active soccer players in relationship with each other:

Defensive Mindset by Wendy Temple (April 2017, epub, Ylva Publishing) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

Star footballer and successful businesswoman Jessie Grainger has her life set, and doesn’t need anything getting in the way. That includes rebellious rival player Fran Docherty, a burnt-out barmaid with a past as messed up as her attitude. So when the clashing pair find themselves on the same Edinburgh women’s football team, how will they survive each other, let alone play to win?

Top of Her Game by M. Ullrich (October 1, 2019, epub, Bold Strokes Books) -- seen via Lez Review Books

Kenzie Shaw is the most sought-after rookie in women’s major league soccer, but her life changes forever when she’s drafted in her home state of New Jersey. After all, it’s not every day you get a chance to play alongside your idol and the woman you’ve crushed on for years.

Sutton Flores has soccer in her blood. Her father raised her to play, her brothers pushed her even harder, and her coaches shaped her into a superstar athlete. Despite her success, Sutton never lost sight of what matters most—her family, friends, and the woman she’s dating—even if most of her relationships fizzle out as quickly as they start.

Kenzie and Sutton’s chemistry as teammates quickly escalates to undeniable attraction off the field, but when allegations of sexual harassment rock the team and their relationship, they must decide if they’re willing to sacrifice their dreams for love. Are they destined to last, or are they players in a game set to lose?

One Small Step by M.A. Binfield (December 1, 2019, Bold Strokes Books) -- seen via Lez Review Books

Where love is concerned, the smallest steps are often the hardest to take—especially when you’ve guarded your heart as carefully as Iris Miller has. Still bruised from a relationship that crashed and burned, and all the meaningless hookups that followed, Iris has given up on love and buttoned her feelings up tight.

But when Cameron Hansen joins Iris’s law firm and her soccer team, and even starts hanging out in her favorite bookstore, everything gets turned upside down. Beautiful, open, and forward, Cam is impossible to ignore, and Iris is surprised to find herself intrigued. Cam’s straight, happily engaged, and simply looking for a friend—or so it seems.

London’s bitterly cold winter makes winning their soccer championship almost as difficult as keeping their feelings in check, being honest with each other, and trying not to fall in love. Iris and Cam are about to discover the meaning of taking chances and following your heart, even if it means getting hurt.

Endgame by Zoe Reed (April 25, 2020, Independently published through Amazon)

Audrey Caplan knew what she wanted. It was simple, really: get the spot as captain of her college soccer team, and focus on school. That was it, and with her aptitude for structure and discipline, it'd be easy to ignore distractions. At least it would've been if Morgan Bailey hadn't shown up. If there was one thing Audrey's bulletproof restraint wasn't prepared for, it was an annoying, adorable show-off with a heart of gold.

Under the Lights by Kate Christie (Book 6 in the Girls of Summer Series; July 2021) -- seen via Lez Review Books

6th book in a series that follows the same couple -- starting with when they meet as high schoolers at a soccer tournament in Southern California, moving through the NWSL and the World Cup and beyond.

Book one: Training Ground
* Book two: Game Time
* Book three: Outside the Lines
* Book four: The Road to Canada
* Book five: Girls of Summer

Hotshot by Clare Lydon (April 13, 2023, published through Amazon)

After US soccer sensation Sloane Patterson moves to the UK to play for the Salchester Rovers, her life starts to unravel. "Retired footballer Ella Carmichael has found her dream job. She has been hired as the Salchester Rovers club performance and lifestyle coach." Sloane falls for Ella. [Ella is a retired "Retired footballer Ella Carmichael has found her dream job. She has been hired as the Salchester Rovers club performance and lifestyle coach. "]

Sloane Patterson is the ultimate hotshot: a US soccer sensation whose arrival in the UK causes quite the stir. She’s got the game, the fame, the looks, the fiancée. But looks can be deceiving.

When Sloane’s life starts to unravel, Salchester Rovers’ new hire, Ella Carmichael, helps her pick up the pieces. But as the lines between their professional and personal lives blur, tensions surface. Now, Sloane’s goal of helping the team win the league and FA Cup has a significant addition: win Ella’s heart.

* Onside Play by Liz Rain (July 2023, epub, Ylva Publishing) -- this is the one from Autostraddle

In this lesbian romance, two rival players from the U.S. and Australia who are ex-girlfriends from college meet again at the World Cup. Will they rekindle their romance and will their relationship survive the tournament, depending on which team wins?

* Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner (September 19, 2023 by St. Martin's Griffin) -- This is one someone entered a giveaway for.

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become friends with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.

Phoebe Matthews has always admired Grace’s skill and was star struck to be training alongside her idol. But she quickly finds herself looking at Grace as more than a mere teammate. After one daring kiss, she’s hooked. Grace is everything she has been waiting to find.

As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women decide to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position. Except, when they are off the field, Grace is worried she’s catching feelings while Phoebe thinks they are dating. As the tension between them grows, will both players realize they care more about their relationship than making the roster?

***

And books where at most one member of the relationship is an active soccer player:

The Set Piece by Catherine Lane (July 4, 2015 by Ylva Publishing) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

"A lesbian’s plan to pose as the fake wife for a famous gay ASL [American Soccer League] player goes awry when she falls for his pretty assistant in this lesbian sports romance."

* The Princess Deception by Nell Stark (May 1, 2018, Bold Strokes Books) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

In this contemporary take on Shakespeare's Twelfith Night, Crown Prince of Belgium Sebastian's twin sister Viola disguises herself as him for Reasons while they're getting ready to launch Belgium’s campaign to host the FIFA World Cup.

Retired (due to injury) pro soccer player cum sports journalist Missy Duke is covering the World Cup bid and figures out that it's Viola in disguise but feigns ignorance. But then sparks develop between Duke and Viola-as-Sebastian...

Game Changers by Jane Cuthbertson (2019, epub, Launch Point Press) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

An older woman (Rachel Johnston, age 52) and a younger soccer player (Jaye Stokes) fall for each other.

The Lesbian Review writes, "Because this book is like a love letter to the game, each match felt thrilling. I think it was because I was watching the matches through Rachel’s enthusiastic eyes. Perhaps Cuthbertson wrote these scenes understanding not every reader knows the ins and outs of professional soccer, and she toned down the technical jargon so that the matches would be exciting for everyone."

Content note: Rachel struggles with depression.

Never Mine by Bryce Oakley (May 14, 2021, independently published) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

An injured soccer star (Sage Carson) and an event coordinator (Willa Bellamy) reconnect at their 15-year high school reunuion and decide to stage a fake relationship for reasons but fall for each other for real.

The Game Changer by Finley Chuva (November 1, 2022, Pink Ampersand/Smashwords) -- seen via The Lesbian Review

The Game Changer is a friends-to-lovers sapphic romance featuring an autistic sports gay, a nerdy bi disaster, and an unapologetically queer supporting cast. It is the first book in the Denver Defiant series.

*Note: This is an #ownvoices work by an autistic author.

picture book recs (round 8)

Okay, it's been two and a half years since my last recs post (Dec 2020), and I have managed to force myself to finish a post.

My reading has definitely gone down since my capacity for everything went down in the pandemic. Most of what I've been reading has been recommended to me by someone, so I'm not sure how much my standards are high/different vs. I'm just burnt-out (I brefly got really enthused about some books in late December 2021/early January 2022, but then slipped back) that I haven't been excited to rec a lot of books myself. Though I've definitely gotten excited about some picturebooks in 2023, so *shrug emoji*.

board books:

• My Hair Is Beautiful written by & illustrated by Shauntay Grant [photographs of Black baby girl hairstyles]
• The Colors of Tet: Màu của Tết written by Ha Huyen & illustrated by Huyen Van -- Vietnamese & English book about Vietnamese Lunar New Year
• A Is for Anemone: A First West Coast Alphabet written & illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers [Tsimshian, Haida, and Heiltsuk] and Robert Budd -- beautiful
• I don't love the "We Are Little Feminists" board books, but I appreciate what they're doing.
• The Animals of Chinese New Year = 中国农历新年动物生肖 written by Jen Sookfong Lee & translated by Kileasa Che Wan Wong.
• Being You: A First Conversation about Gender words by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli & art by Anne/Andy Passchier
• A Is for Artichoke: A Foodie Alphabet from Artichoke to Zest written by America's Test Kitchen Kids & illustrated by Maddie Frost
• [explicity fat-positive, anti-BMI, etc.] Every Body: A First Conversation About Bodies written by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli & illustrated by Tequitia Andrews (I read this in reguar picturebok, but it's also available in board book.)

queer/gender picturebooks:

• My Dad Thinks I’m a Boy?!: A Trans Positive Children's Book by Sophie Labelle
• Pride Puppy written by Robin Stevenson & illustrated by Julie McLaughlin
• Fred Gets Dressed by Peter Brown -- Betsy Bird rightly notes that this isn't really about being trans, but I appreciate its normalization of gender-non-conformity
• Love, Violet written by Charlotte Sullivan Wild & illustrated by Charlene Chua -- elementary school girls in lurve!
• [available in board book and picture book] Being You: A First Conversation about Gender words by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli & art by Anne/Andy Passchier
• If You're a Kid Like Gavin: The True Story of a Young Trans Activist written by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff & illustrated by J Yang -- I had worried this would be targeted only at trans kid readers, but it does a good job connecting trans experience
• Payden's Pronoun Party written by Blue Jaryn & illustrated by Xochitl Cornejo
• Bathe the Cat written by Alice B. McGinty & illustrated by David Roberts -- not ABOUT being queer, just casually has 2 dads in a mixed-race family, but also it has great casual queer representation like the magnets on the fridge (trans pride flag!)
• No One Owns the Colors written by Gianna Davy & illustrated by Brenda Rodríguez -- which, per the title, is pretty broad, but also clearly opens with pushing back against the idea that "pink is for girls and blue is for boys," and is consistently applicable to gender non-conformity etc. (I also appreciate its normalization of change with the line "I'll copy the trees and I'll change with the seasons;" and I appreciate the line "there are colors we're made of and colors we choose" without any value judgments)
• And That’s Their Family! written by Kailee Coleman & illustrated by Jamie Malone -- explicitly includes poly families in its representation; and has queer rep in lots of the illustrations, not just the ones "about" queer families

other picturebooks:

• [Muslim] The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family written by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S. K. Ali & illustrated by Hatem Aly
• [Indigenous] I Sang You Down from the Stars written by Tasha Spillett [Trinidadian-Cree] & illustrated by Michaela Goade [Tlingit] -- beautiful
• [Black people] Don't Touch My Hair written & illustrated by Sharee Miller -- love this
• Fred Gets Dressed written & illustrated by Peter Brown
• [about worry/anxiety] The Whatifs written by Emily Kilgore & illustrated by Zoe Persico
• [Persian New Year] Seven Special Somethings: A Nowruz Story written by Adib Khorram & illustrated by Zainab Faidhi 
• [India, bedtime] Goodnight Ganesha written by Nadia Salomon & illustrated by Poonam Mistry -- beautiful
• Bodies Are Cool written & illustrated by Tyler Feder
• Sunday the Sea Witch by Andrea Stein and Cayce Matteoli
• Stanley's Library written & illustrated by William Bee
• Mother God written by Teresa Kim Pecinovsky & illustrated by Khoa Le -- though I wish the Scripture Guide were included in the book itself, rather than a separate PDF on the book website
• The Twelve Days of Christmas in Texas written & illustrated by Janie Bynum
• Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night written & illustrated by Julia Kuo
• That Flag written by Tameka Fryer Brown & illustrated by Nikkolas Smith -- a powerful story about the contemporary legacy of the Confederate flag
• Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers? written by Junauda Petrus & illustrated by Kristen Uroda -- articulating an abolitionist vision!
• [explicity fat-positive, anti-BMI, etc.] Every Body: A First Conversation About Bodies written by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli & illustrated by Tequitia Andrews

***

Reminder to please purchase your books from independent bookstores (see, e.g., this list of Black Owned Bookstores in the United States or these lists of A[A]PI-owned bookstores from EpicReads and Libro.fm). Most will ship to you. And if there are books you can't find at your preferred indie bookstore (though most will special-order for you), you can also shop on BookShop.org -- which has an affiliate program supporting independent bookstores (I first learned about it when my local indie was closed due to pandemic).

[TDOV 2023] book recs

Continuing to (attempt to) make this an annual thing.

March 2021, after my partner asked me, "I’m proofing a Transgender Day of Visibility doc for someone in [a Facebook group]. Do you have particular kid or adult books you’d recommend? (And how is it that I don’t actually have any?)" I pulled a bunch of book recs and made a post, and have been trying to do it annually (you can check out the trans tag).

This post is definitely smaller than past years -- largely due to fatigue/burnout/etc. impacting how much reading I did, period (despite the hopeful intentions I expressed in my post last year) and also how many words I could pull together about what I read (as you can see).

I wanna say (as I did last year) that I've read most all the extant trans picturebooks at this point, but I literally have about a half a dozen on my shelf right now that I haven't had a chance to read yet. 😂 (In my defense, most of them came out in the past year or so, some of them very recently.)

I continue to include the publication year (and publisher), since I know queer lit can often feel dated as Discourse, language, etc. changes. I also tried to flag the identities of the authors as far as I knew, since I want to mainly center trans voices.

picturebooks

[general] Payden's Pronoun Party written by Blue Jaryn & illustrated by Xochitl Cornejo (2022, Page Street Publishing Company) -- both author and illustrator use they/them pronouns

This book reminds me of What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns but the narrative of this one feels more ... organic?

[trans masc] If You're a Kid Like Gavin: The True Story of a Young Trans Activist written by Gavin Grimm and Kyle Lukoff & illustrated by J Yang (2022, Katherine Tegen Books) -- both authors are trans men; illustrator is a queer Asian-American

You may have encountered some of the news stories about Gavin Grimm. I wasn't sure how this would translate to a picture book for a wide audience, but this book really works well.

middle grade

Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff (Dial/Penguin Random House, 2022) -- author is a trans man

I loved this book so much! A non-binary kid shows up at our 6th-grade protagonist Annabelle's small school, and blows open her world in a lot of disruptive, but exciting ways. A lot of educating happens in the book, but it feels really organic. The epilogue-y bit didn't really work for me, but the overall happy ending did (I know some reviewers felt like it was too fast/easy, but it generally felt earned to me).

adult

(Note: These are all by/about trans women. As a cis woman, I've generally been more interested in stories by/about women. Also, my partner is a trans femme/woman, so I read a lot of books with/for her.)

[short story collection] A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2021) -- author is a Canadian trans woman

Although the protagonists in this collection are younger than the ones in A Safe Girl to Love, the characters in this collection feel more grounded in their lives.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (One World / Penguin Random House, 2020) -- author is a USian trans woman

I'm honestly surprised and impressed that this book got published, given its immediate opening with some potentially off-putting stuff. I hesitate to recommend it to cis people both for that reason (and there's rough stuff throughout the book) and because it's not a starter book, period. One Autostraddle review is titled, "“Detransition, Baby” Is a Book For Trans Women — The Rest of You Are Lucky to Read It."

Per the provocative title, it says some smart things about detransition, as well as a lot of other things about trans experience. It's a trans book that's really honest about a lot of the mess, that isn't catering to cis readers. The characters aren't always likable, but the multiple POVs work well to help us understand where characters are coming from, even if we don't always approve of their decisions.

One of our three protagonists, Katrina, is mixed-race (half-Chinese and half-Jewish), and the author is, I believe, white. While Katrina definitely checks other characters on their white privilege at times, I've read reviews by POCs (I'm white) which compellingly point out how this is still a very white novel (in the treatment of Katrina among other things).

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (Tor / Macmillan, 2021) -- author is a Japanese-American trans woman

There are 3 (female) protagonists in this book -- 1 of whom is a young mixed-race trans girl violin prodigy (also named Katrina, it occurs to me). She experiences both micro- and macro-aggressions, but there's also a lot of joy in the story. She sometimes has to educate well-meaning cis people, but that's only a small part of the novel. There are aliens and pacts with demons and So Much Food.

[TDOV 2022] book recs

So, pandemic depression meant I was late finishing this post (figuring out words to say about books is hard!). So, uh, you get 2 posts this year? The summary at the top was written last year, but I didn't finish writing words about some of the books until this year. (And lbr, this is, in fact, still very rought draft; but I didn't wanna get even further behind.)

---

Last March, after my partner asked me, "I’m proofing a Transgender Day of Visibility doc for someone in [a Facebook group]. Do you have particular kid or adult books you’d recommend? (And how is it that I don’t actually have any?)" I pulled a bunch of book recs and made this post.

I also started reading some of the back catalog on my TBR (as well as adding a lot more books to my TBR), and a year later I have another set of recs -- though honestly not as many as I had expected.

As with last time, I included the publication year (and publisher), since I know queer lit can often feel dated as Discourse, language, etc. changes. I also tried to flag the identities of the authors as far as I knew, since I want to mainly center trans voices.

I've read most all the extant trans picturebooks at this point (though there were a bunch of recent new releases and I haven't been able to get my hands on all of them yet), but there's lots of exciting stuff happening in MG/YA which I'm hoping to get to read more of this coming year (though I will also be eating up picture books as they come out) -- and maybe some of the adult books I intended to read this past year and didn't get to? 🤷🏻‍♀️🙏🏻🤞🏻📚

picturebooks: general | trans parent | trans-masc | trans-fem

middle grade | young adult | adult

picturebooks

general

What Are Your Words? A Book About Pronouns written by Katherine Locke & illustrated by Anne "Andy" Passchier (2021, Hachette) -- both author and illustrator use "they" pronouns

I worry a little that this book will lead to kids asking people "What are your words?", which won't make sense to anyone who hasn't read this book. But I do appreciate teaching kids to ask rather than assume.

Ari also uses very embodied language when talking about the feeling of trying on words that don't fit. Which I like as a way of encouraging kids to check in with their bodies about what does or does not feel right for them.

This book models a variety of pronouns, and I appreciate that the non-binary characters have a variety of gender presentations -- not just the current popular image of androgyny. It also honors the fact that sometimes the words we want people to use for use change frequently, and aren't even always immediately clear to ourselves.

Other diversity notes: There's a wheelchair user and also someone with a prosthetic foot. And a friend of a friend pointed out the predominance of traditionally Jewish names (our protagonist Ari, Ari's uncle Lior, Ari's sister Rachel).

Jamie and Bubbie: A Book About People’s Pronouns written by Afsaneh Moradian & illustrated by Maria Bogade (2020, Free Spirit Publishing) both author and illustrator use "she" pronouns and give no indication in the book bio of being not-cis

Jamie's Bubbie comes to visit and incorrectly assumes the pronouns of various people she meets. I really appreciate the modeling of a child correcting an elder, though it's a little plot-less/awkward.

I was more meh on its predecessor book: Jamie Is Jamie: A Book About Being Yourself and Playing Your Way written by Afsaneh Moradian & illustrated by Maria Bogade (2018, Free Spirit Publishing).

Being You: A First Conversation About Gender written by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli & illustrated by Anne/Andy Passchier (2021, Rise X Penguin Workshop)

This talks about a variety of concepts in child-accessible ways. (Some reviewers think the material/topic is too advanced for the board book set, but I don't think so.) There are also questions to ask the child-reader as you go through the book.

The backmatter has more information for adult readers (which also helps).

Worth a mention, too, although the focus is not on trans characters per se, are two books about bodies that have clear representation of trans men with top surgery scars, among people of many other identities (queer and not): Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder (Dial Books, 2021) and the 2021 update of the originally-1986 The Bare Naked Book written by Kathy Stinson & illustrated by Melissa Cho (Annick Press).

trans parent

She's My Dad!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative (2020) and He's My Mom!: A Story for Children Who Have a Transgender Parent or Relative (2021) written by Sarah Savage & illustrated by Joules Garcia (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)

I don't love these books, but if you're looking for something in the niche market of "picturebook for a child about a parent or other adult transitioning," they're pretty good. The books try to balance being a story about a kid who just happens to have a trans parent with also educating the reader, and it feels a little uneven, but not too bad -- and the education it's giving is pretty solid.

I have a preference for the Dad book, though that's in part because because I read it first (but only in part; it's also an objectively better book).

trans-masc

Sam! written by Dani Gabriel & illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo (2019, Penny Candy Books)
[The author said: "Sam! is a product of my experience as a queer, gender nonconforming person as well as a parent of a transgender child."]

There's some subtle Latinx coding, and this is maybe the only Latinx trans picturebook I've come across other than some bilingual ones with non-binary/gender-non-conforming protagonists (They Call Me Mix/Me Llaman Maestre written by Lourdes Rivas, 2018, about a non-binary person; One of a Kind, Like Me / Único Como Yo written by Laurin Mayeno, 2016, about a boy who wants to dress up as a princess; and arguably Call Me Tree/Llamame árbol written by Maya Christina Gonzalez, 2014, which is trying to be gender-free). In contrast to those books, our child protagonist here is decidedly a boy.

I'm Not a Girl: A Transgender Story written by Maddox Lyons and Jessica Verdi & illustrated by Dana Simpson (2020, Roaring Brook Press)
[A 12-year-old trans boy (Maddox) wrote this book (with assistance from an adult co-author), and the illustrator is a trans woman.]

A fairly straightforward story about a trans boy trying to tell his parents he's really a boy.

Hannah (our protagonist) doesn't have anyone malicious in his life -- his parents just don't pick up on his rejection of girl things. (We also get an example of how pervasive certain gender norms are, when Hannah picks out a pirate costume and his mother then purchases the "girl" pirate costume, rather than the traditional boy-coded pirate costume Hannah had picked out.)

While the book follows Hannah's frustration, it doesn't dwell in the pain such that I think it would be difficult for a trans kid to read. There are some really poignant moments, though. Like at one point Hannah is out playing in the snow, and his dad tells him to put on his (pink) jacket, and Hannah narrates: "I flop down into the snow and make another angel. I'd rather be cold and wet than not be me."

Hannah eventually meets a couple of kids who introduce him to the term "transgender" (they have a transgender cousin). It hadn't occurred to me until I started reading GR reviews that it matters that this book uses the term "transgender" explicitly. It gives trans kids additional language for themselves and also normalizes the term for all child readers.

I was pretty meh on Calvin written by J.R. Ford and Vanessa Ford & illustrated by Kayla Harren (2021, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers) and Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope written by Jodie Patterson & illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow (2021, Crown Books for Young Readers), but they're both stories of Black trans boys in supportive communities, which feels valuable. They're both written by parents about their sons' experiences.

trans-fem

My Dad Thinks I’m a Boy?!: A Trans Positive Children's Book by Sophie Labelle (2020, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) -- author is a trans woman

I appreciate how many notes this book manages to hit while still feeling fun and not Teachy.

My Sister, Daisy written by Adria Karlsson & illustrated by Linus Curci (2021, Capstone) -- writer is mother of a trans girl; author is a trans man

I was a little hesitant to read this book, because I'd rather center trans voices and trans stories, but I went to a (virtual) event with the author and illustrator, and the author talked about how when her daughter came out, they (the parents) wanted books to help the siblings, which is valid.

Although the author's family is white, the illustrator made the intentional choice to make the family in the book multi-racial, for representation reasons.

middle grade

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff (2021, Penguin Random House) -- author is a trans man

This book is only kind of about being trans. In the Author's Note at the end of the book, Lukoff writes:

When people ask what my book is about, I say, "It's about a kid being haunted by the ghost of their dead uncle into figuring out something important." Bug never uses they/them pronouns, but I hope that if I say it quickly enough, the person I'm talking to won't really notice. If the person asks for more details, I might say that it's kind of a scary story, and also a sad story but with a mostly happy ending, and that it's about figuring out how to make friends, being who you are, and letting go of someone you love.

Because this book, of course, is a trans story. It had been out long enough by the time I read it that I knew that going in -- and in fact that's a big reason I picked it up in the first place. I appreciated reading it knowing that Bug would figure out by the end that he's a trans boy, but I understand Lukoff not necessarily wanting to rob readers of the experience of figuring it out on their own as they read. (Certainly I generally avoid spoilers.)

young adult

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (2020, Macmillan) -- author is non-binary, queer Latinx

My friend Sophia's friend billed it to them as: "trans boy tries to prove to his family that he's a boy by doing the boy magic of summoning a ghost -- but he summons the wrong ghost, and oh no he's cute"

The book is, in fact, a delight.

adult

[short story collection] A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett (2014, Topside Press) -- author is a Canadian trans woman

The back cover blurb says, "Eleven unique short stories that stretch from a rural Canadian Mennonite town to a hipster gay bar in Brooklyn, featuring young trans women stumbling through loss, sex, harassment, and love."

I really appreciate how much it centers trans women's voices and identities.

My partner said of the first story: "Spoilers: the story is about all the micro aggressions that trans people face when interacting with the people who knew them pre-transition, no matter how well-intentioned those people are." The stories aren't all bleak, though.

There are ways in which the characters are variations on a theme, but I didn't feel like they were repetitive. Characters sometimes show up in each other's stories, which I appreciated -- since folks exist in community.