3 Must-Read Picture Books Featuring Trans Kids!
When it comes to explaining transgender identity to kids, having conversations around pronouns and providing kid-friendly definitions are important first steps, but they’re just the beginning.
In order to create a truly trans-inclusive understanding of the world for the kids in your life, you have to go beyond simple explanations and definitions. One fantastic way to take the next step is to introduce the young folks in your life to trans characters—especially trans kids!— through picture books!
Here are three of our favorite picture books featuring trans kids that you can introduce to the young folks in your life today through our Rainbow Storytime read-a-loud series!
When Aidan Became A Brother written by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
This award-winning picture book written by one of our favorite authors is a ground-breaking story about transitions of many kinds. Aidan is a trans boy, but he’s also about to become a big brother!
We love this book because the central conflict of the book doesn’t revolve around Aidan’s trans identity, but his identity is still integral to story. We’ll also read pretty much anything by Kyle!
Grab your copy through our affiliate Bookshop.org!
My Rainbow written by Trinity and DeShanna Neal and illustrated by Art Twink
This fantastic picture book is based on a real-life story and written by a real-life kid-parent duo! Trinity is a trans girl who wants long hair but her sensory issues make it difficult for her to grow her hair long, so her family comes up with a solution and her mom makes Trinity her very own Rainbow Wig!
We love this book because, yes, Trinity is trans but she’s also Black and autistic! It’s super rare to find representation like that in picture books, even these days, and we love seeing how all of Trinity’s identities influence this story.
Grab your copy through our affiliate Bookshop.org!
Phoenix Goes To School written by Phoenix and Michelle Finch and illustrated by Sharon Davey
This sweet book is also based on a real-life story AND is also written by a real-life kid-parent duo, just like My Rainbow! Phoenix’s story focuses Back To School season and the anxiety Phoenix feels about whether her new classmates will accept her. Spoiler alert: it’s no big deal and she makes awesome new friends!
We love this book for a lot of reasons but mainly because it brings trans representation to the Back to School genre and beautifully models supportive conversations between Phoenix and her mom and with other kids!
Grab your copy through our affiliate Bookshop.org!
These three books (and characters!) are fantastic ways to move beyond definitions to show the young folks in your life that there are trans kids out there who are dealing with feelings and situations that they might experience in their lives too!
Set aside 15 minutes to watch our Rainbow Storytime read-a-loud compilation video of all three books!
