It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity

"This expansive, straightforward framing of gender emphasizes curiosity, joy, and positive self-expression.

In Thorn’s uplifting picture-book debut, young readers meet four children: Ruthie, a thin, transgender girl with light brown skin; Xavier, Ruthie’s cisgender brother, who also has brown skin; Alex, a pale-skinned, round-bodied kid who is “both a boy and a girl”; and JJ, a brown-skinned child who uses a wheelchair and who is “neither a boy nor a girl.” Through plain, intentional language, Thorn normalizes each child’s gender identity and skillfully introduces the multifaceted concept of nonbinary gender: “Just like there are many different ways to be a boy or a girl, there are many different ways to be show more non-binary—too many to fit in a book!” As the main characters move through their vibrant neighborhood, families and children are portrayed with a prismatic array of gender expressions, skin colors, and physical features. Nonbinary illustrator Grigni’s full-bleed images are magical in their jewel-toned palette. Among gender-centered picture books, this one stands out for its dazzling #ownvoices art and its simple yet nuanced phrasing—particularly when Ruthie shares her true gender with her family, and her parents (an interracial couple) respond with a loving group hug. “Oops! Ruthie was a girl all along—they just didn’t know it at first.” Giving kids and adults a hopeful model for discussing (and embracing) one another’s gender is just one of the gifts offered by this valuable narrative.

Exceptional. (glossary, resources, note on pronouns, author’s note, illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 3-9)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.krkusreviews.com show less

"This expansive, straightforward framing of gender emphasizes curiosity, joy, and positive self-expression.

In Thorn’s uplifting picture-book debut, young readers meet four children: Ruthie, a thin, transgender girl with light brown skin; Xavier, Ruthie’s cisgender brother, who also has brown skin; Alex, a pale-skinned, round-bodied kid who is “both a boy and a girl”; and JJ, a brown-skinned child who uses a wheelchair and who is “neither a boy nor a girl.” Through plain, intentional language, Thorn normalizes each child’s gender identity and skillfully introduces the multifaceted concept of nonbinary gender: “Just like there are many different ways to be a boy or a girl, there are many different ways to be show more non-binary—too many to fit in a book!” As the main characters move through their vibrant neighborhood, families and children are portrayed with a prismatic array of gender expressions, skin colors, and physical features. Nonbinary illustrator Grigni’s full-bleed images are magical in their jewel-toned palette. Among gender-centered picture books, this one stands out for its dazzling #ownvoices art and its simple yet nuanced phrasing—particularly when Ruthie shares her true gender with her family, and her parents (an interracial couple) respond with a loving group hug. “Oops! Ruthie was a girl all along—they just didn’t know it at first.” Giving kids and adults a hopeful model for discussing (and embracing) one another’s gender is just one of the gifts offered by this valuable narrative.

Exceptional. (glossary, resources, note on pronouns, author’s note, illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 3-9)" A Kirkus Starred Review, www.krkusreviews.com show less

This picture book introduces gender identity to young readers in a simple straightforward way.
Some people are boys. Some are girls. Some are both, neither, or somewhere in between, This picture book sends the strong message that your feelings about your gender are real and you should listen to your heart. No matter what your gender identity is, you are OK and loved exactly the way you are. By introducing several characters throughout it's pages the book reveals many of the different ways to be a girl or boy or neither one and the correct terminology to describe their differing gender The illustrations are delightfully diverse. A child can easily find themselves or a friend on the pages. The author has included helpful vocabulary and show more discussion starters for teachers and parents in the end pages to aid in follow-up discussions and future conversations.

This book celebrates gender diversity and individuality in a wonderful social-emotional way. It helps children view situations from different perspectives, appreciate and value diversity, make inferences about the feeling of others, develop empathy and engage in prosocial behavior. It can be a mirror, window or sliding door for the reader.

Favorite quote: "There are a never ending number of ways to be yourself in the world." show less

I enjoyed this book so much!! Talking about gender and identity in children’s books tend to be a touchy subject for some. However, I think this book explains gender so well and in a very age-appropriate way. It also is just educational to children who may not know much about gender identity. There's a strong theme of acceptance throughout the book on top of it being educational as everyone in the book is accepting of everyone’s identities. I honestly don’t think I could possibly say enough good things about this book! On top of everything else, the illustrations and use of art in the book evoke childlike whimsy and colors that I feel can sometimes be missing in more modern children’s literature.

Meet Ruthie, Xavier, Alex, and JJ, four kids with different gender identities! Their stories are less prominent than the informational side of this text, however, which clearly and plainly explains terms like gender identity, trans and cis gender, and non-binary. This book hit all the marks for me! Gender is introduced as 1) a construct - that is still experienced in reality and impacts our day to day lives from the day we're born; 2) fluid and non-binary, no matter how you identify! Kids who identify as girl or boy are shown expressing themselves in a variety of ways, just as the kids who identify as non-binary do. This book recognizes that peoples’ gender identities might change over time, and for families, demonstrates affirming show more ways to approach gender and approach kids who figure out their gender identity is something other than what they were assigned at birth. Illustrations are eye-catching and bright, with an inclusive variety of people and family compositions represented. show less

wow i fucking love this. stunning, stunning illustrations ugh. the watercolours. the line work. the texture. UGH. i love.

words are, of course, super important too. the whole thing is so beautiful inside and out and makes me feel THINGS.

This book sets out to make a simple and easy to understand lesson on gender identity. It works and works well. The illustrations are lively and colorful, they make perfect sense with the information being given. This makes this a perfect book for those kids and adults who aren’t quite getting the idea of gender inclusivity.