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On her blog Today You Are You, Jennifer Carr writes about her daughter’s growth from boy to girl — a transformation that began at age four. As a longtime fan of both Jenn and her blog, I was beyond stoked when I learned that she produced a children’s book about gender diversity, Be Who You Are.
Be Who You Are is about a kid named Nick. He has all outward appearances of being a boy, but inwardly feels like he’s a girl. Luckily for Nick, his parents and family are incredibly compassionate and understanding, and actively encourage him to explore these feelings and grow into his new identity as a girl named Hope.
Be Who You Are is a unique piece of work. Even in 2011, there still aren’t many books about transgender children — let alone books that portray transgender characters in a positive light. Whether or not you or your children identify as transgender, the book is a perfect way to introduce your family to the complexities of the concept.
Additional Resources:
- The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals (book)
- Transgender children: more than a theoretical challenge (research study)
- 10,000 Dresses (book)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This could not have been shared at a more important time. A co-worker of mine is dealing with a student in her class who insists that they are a boy-lining up with the boys for the bathroom, correcting people when they say “she” or “her”, and because they are seven years old the family is at a loss. They have tried to do the best they can and this book will be a wonderful gift to help them help their child through this difficult time.
Thanks for posting this. I’m trying to add books about diversity to my daughter’s library, and this is one I’ll look into for sure!
By the way, if you follow the link to Amazon, and scroll down to the phrase “Boys Will Be Girls” you’ll find a list of other books about transgendered children.
I am so glad that this book is around.
When I was a child, my mother was in a relationship with a transman. I sometimes wish that there had been more ways for my mom to get the idea of “transgendered” across. The initial conversation was hard, but once I had the concept in my head, I understood it.
I was raised around trans people, drag queens, and gay and lesbian individuals – but having a book that I could pull out and show to my FRIENDS when they didn’t understand – that would have been really helpful.
Thanks for posting this. It looks like a great book.
Thank you so much for posting this! Both my step-father and my partner are transgender and I worry about the possibility of having a trans child and not recognizing it early enough. Maybe Jennifer Carr could write a guest post? Or, I suppose, I could meander on over there…
Thanks so much for posting this!!
SO awesome. Wow. This rocks!
I love the idea of this book. Creating awareness, and opening the world for each child to be who they really are is amazing. Does anyone know if there are any books for children who just like to dress as the opposite sex, but not necessarily be the opposite sex?
http://www.amazon.com/My-Princess-Boy-Cheryl-Kilodavis/dp/1442429887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316437918&sr=8-1
This one was written by a woman whose son likes to dress “girly”. She was on the Tyra show (I think) talking about it, and it was really inspiring. 🙂