Trauma takes a back seat in these titles that center joy and resilience of transgender children. From delightful picture books to thoughtful chapter books to graphic novels set in fantasy worlds, check out an affirming story today.
Visit denverlibrary.org/kids/lgbtq for more resources and recommendations.
Eleven-year-old Liv fights to change the middle school dress code requiring girls to wear a skirt and, along the way, finds the courage to tell his moms he is meant to be a boy.
"A transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time"-- Provided by publisher.
It's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: a ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.
"Aidan, a transgender boy, experiences complicated emotions as he and his parents prepare for the arrival of a new baby"-- Provided by publisher.
Daniel and Ash cross paths when a pomeranian is about to be euthanized; the sensitive Dan rescues the dog and Ash offers to help on a day when they are female-presenting. As the friendship grows, Ash feels less and less able to be their full self -- sometimes male and sometimes female -- in front of Dan without knowing that both people find themselves constantly at war with their non-conforming identities.
"A dedicated mom puts love into action as she creates the perfect rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, based on the real-life experience of mother-daughter advocate duo Trinity and DeShanna Neal"-- Provided by publisher.
Told in two voices, seventh-graders Essie, in North Carolina for just one semester, and Ollie, a non-binary, "gender weird" classmate, develop a gentle romance while Essie ponders her label.
When a political coup causes them to flee, Hawke and Grayson assume new identities as Hanna and Grayce to find the Communion of Blue, an order of magical women, and the twins hatch a plan to avenge their family and retake their home.
"Three years ago, Ash's mom left home and never returned, leaving behind a husband and child and a shed full of mystical curiosities related to the all-girl fantasy world she'd created as a child -- Koretris. One day Ash invites a new group of friends from Pride Club over, and they try one of the spells to enter Koretris. To their amazement, they're all transported to a magical realm filled with human-sized talking animals who are fiercely protective of their world and are ready to fight to protect it. But if Koretris is real, why is Ash there? Everyone has always called Ash a boy -- shouldn't the spell have kept Ash out? And what does it mean if it let Ash in?" -- Amazon.com