What Makes a Baby Written by Cory Silverberg Illustrated by Fiona Smyth 36 Pages A kid-friendly educational resource that describes the basic biology of reproduction while also being inclusive of diverse family structures and stories. The book’s illustrations are bright and charming, drawing readers of every age into the narrative. What Makes a Baby has proven to be…
Totally Joe James Howe Totally Joe is written in the form of an alphabiography – a writing assignment given to Joe’s (the main character) grade 7 class, and takes place over the course of a year. Throughout his alphabiography, Joe introduces us to his group of friends, “The Misfits,” his family, the school bullies, and a…
George Written by Alex Gino 208 Pages “When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY…
Worm Loves Worm Written by J.J Austrian Illustrated by Mike Curato 32 Pages As with many love stories, this one leads to marriage. Since they are worms and their gender is unclear, all their friends want to know is, who will wear the wedding dress? In the end they each wear parts of each other’s…
Oliver Button is a Sissy Written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola 48 Pages Why didn’t Oliver just do what other boys did? Instead Oliver prefers playing with paper dolls, spending time in the attic putting on costumes, singing and dancing, and playing make-believe. The result: Oliver gets teased and bullied. Even his father doesn’t understand…
10,000 Dresses Written by Marcus Ewert Illustrated by Rex Ray 32 pages 10,000 Dresses is a story of a transgender child: who was born a boy but now identifies as a girl. Every night Bailey dreams of beautiful magical dresses. Sadly, when she wakes up full of excitement to tell her family about them, she…
Heather Has Two Mommies Written by Leslea Newman Illustrated by Laura Cornell 32 Pages “Heather’s favourite number is two. She has two arms, two legs, two eyes, two ears, two hands, and two feet.” Most everything about Heather is like most other children around her, with one difference: Heather has two mothers. Heather Has Two…
I Am Jazz Written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas Jazz describes herself as having a girl’s brain in a boy’s body. Her favourite colour is pink, she loves dressing like a mermaid, and is not interested in typical boy activities. Her parents soon discovered that Jazz was born transgender. This is…
King and King Written by Linda De Haan Illustrated by Stern Nijland 32 Pages This is the well-known story of Cinderella with a twist. When the queen insists that her son get married, the Prince begrudgingly agrees. However, this is no easy feat. One by one all the bachelorettes of the land introduce themselves, hoping to…
In Our Mothers’ House Written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco 48 pages Marmee, Meema, and their three children are just like most families: they cook, they play games, they laugh, they learn, and they celebrate the seasons of the year together. Most people in the neighbourhood love them—and how could you not – they were always…