Here’s a list of books I’ve reviewed about kids who reject gender norms. Check out the reviews and commit to adding one to your personal or school library!! I’m reviewing LGBTQ# inclusive children’s picture books at RaiseThemRighteous. If you are an author/publisher (traditional/indie/self-published) contact me for a review and to […]
Jack (Not Jackie) (2018), written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Holly Hatam, adds an important perspective to the existing archive of children’s picture books about transgender and gender creative kids. This thoughtfully told and cheerfully illustrated tale is narrated from the point-of-view of a girl experiencing her transgender younger […]
Are You a Boy or a Girl? (2015), co-written by Sarah Savage and Fox Fisher, who is also the picture book’s illustrator, is the story of nonbinary Tiny. Tiny and their family, who are illustrated with various skin-tones, move to a new home where no one knows Tiny. They experience […]
They She He Me: Free to Be (2017), by Maya and Matthew Smith-Gonzalez, is a celebration of diversity in its many forms. People with different boy-types, skin-tones, and gender expressions are thoughtfully illustrated above a variety of pronouns that are repeated across the two-page spread. The text suggests that gender […]
Square Zair Pair (2015), written by Jase Peeples and illustrated by Christine Knopp, is a quirky picture book reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. The story takes place in Hanamandoo, a fantasy world inhabited by Zairs. Zairs hatch from eggs that grow from vines. Some are tall and square; others are short […]
The Gender Wheel (2017), written and illustrated by Maya Gonzalez, introduces readers to gender diversity through the concept of a “gender wheel.” Gonzalez’s images are warm and inviting. She illustrates […]
Santa’s Husband (2017), written by Daniel Kibblesmith and illustrated by A P Quach, reimagines Santa and his partner as an interracial gay couple. Santa Claus, a black man, and his white partner, David, live in the North Pole, check the naughty/nice list twice, and take care of all the reindeer. […]
Donovan’s Big Day (2011), written by the prolific and talented Lesléa Newman and charmingly illustrated by Mike Dutton, unfolds from the point-of-view of a young boy excitedly getting ready for his moms’ wedding ceremony. Donovan is about nine-years-old with brown hair, green eyes, and pale white skin. His boyish bedroom […]
When Kayla was Kyle (2013), written by Amy Fabrikant and illustrated by Jennifer Levine, is a thoughtful book about an unhappy transgender child who bravely confides her gender identity to her parents and begins to transition. At the start of the book, Kayla’s father polices her gender by pressuring her […]
This is an eclectic list of children’s picture books I’ve reviewed that feature women and girls fighting for all forms of justice: gender justice, LGBTQ equality, environmental justice, and race justice. There are lots of paths to being a change maker! Debbie Levy’s I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark […]
Raise Them Righteous 