BENNY'S TRUE COLORS

A winged friend experiences cross-species transition.

Benny, a pug-nosed, ruffed, flying creature, “looks like all the other little brown bats in the park—he has a brown, furry body, webbed wings, and pointed ears.” But “Benny isn’t a bat”: he’s diurnal, hates eating bugs, and “dreams about a silky, soft body; fluttering, patterned, colorful wings; and long, curling antennae.” You see, Benny is “really…a BUTTERFLY.” His butterfly friends are all extremely supportive of his identity, and his mother’s only lines are variations on “I love you.” Even though the butterflies don’t think Benny needs to change his body, some caterpillars wrap him in a cocoon (instead of extruding a chrysalis for him) and he emerges more typically butterfly-assigned. While it’s nice that this story, dedicated by Passchier to “all the trans and gender-nonconforming kids out there,” departs from the traditional bullying narrative, it’s still an uncomfortable stand-in for transgender identities, implying that gender differences are akin to those between insects and mammals rather than fluid social constructions. Even without the strained metaphor the story is positively treacly; in penning a supportive tale, the author deprives the plot of conflict to fuel it. The bright, chipper art, matching the tone, is unsubtle but appealing. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 18.1% of actual size.)

Choose stories about real trans children over this clumsy attempt.