Although this picture book provides a necessary message of acceptance and representation for transgender boys, the narrative...
A big sister learns a lesson about loving her transgender brother for who he is.
Susan dreams of playing forest fairies and explorers with a little sister. She loves to hear her baby sibling giggle. However, as the baby grows up, Susan struggles to accept their differences in self-expression. Despite their mother’s gentle admonition to let her sibling be, Susan thinks it’s wrong that the person she sees as a sister wants to wear clothes from the boys’ section. After her sibling asks for a short haircut, she feels betrayed when Jack (not Jackie) tells the family he’s Susan’s brother. Remembering how much she loved Jack as a baby helps Susan accept the new transition. Narrated in first person, the story focuses on the feelings of the cisgender sister of a transgender boy. For most of the text, Susan calls her brother “Jackie” and uses she/her pronouns to refer to him. While Susan struggles, their mother offers refreshing acceptance throughout the story with reassurances such as “We wear what feels right.” The characters adhere to gender stereotypes, but the author’s note offers a less binary discussion of gender identity. Illustrations that combine digital line drawing and realistic textures accompany the text and depict Susan, Jack, and their parents as white.
Although this picture book provides a necessary message of acceptance and representation for transgender boys, the narrative remains rooted in a cisgender perspective. (further reading) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0731-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family.
For his debut picture book, teacher and activist Chasten Buttigieg draws inspiration from life with husband Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. transportation secretary.
The big day has finally arrived! Rosie and Jojo have been counting down the days until Papa comes home from his work trip. With a little help from Daddy, they make “welcome home” signs to greet Papa at the airport, pick flowers from the garden, and bake a “seven-layer chocolate cake with purple and yellow frosting.” Much to Daddy’s bemusement, the kids gather all of Papa’s favorite things, including his robe and slippers and their adorable pooch, Butter, as they walk out the door to pick up Papa from his travels. The author offers an affectionate portrait of the everyday domestic life of a same-sex family unit. While many kids and adults will be pleased to see their experiences reflected on the page, both the choppy writing and the flat digital artwork are fairly bland. Characters display similarly excited facial expressions throughout, while the portrayal of the children borders on overly cutesy at times, with intentionally misspelled signs throughout the house (“Papa’s Very Spechull Garden. Please do not tutch”). Like the author’s actual children, Rosie and Jojo are brown-skinned, while Daddy and Papa present white.
An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780593693988
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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