Picture Books:
10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert
Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
A House For Everyone by Jo Hirst
My Name is Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel
Introducing Teddy by Jessica Walton
Morris Micklewhite & the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino
Be who you are by Todd Parr
Be who you are by Jennifer Carr
Right now I am fine (great to read to kids about anxiety) by Daniela Owen
Middle Grade:
Lily & Dunkin by Donna Gephart
The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
The Pants Project by Cat Clarke
Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
Wandering Son by Shimura Takako
Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee
Young Adult:
You and your gender identity by Dara Hoffman-Fox
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
If I was your Girl by Meredith Russo
Jess, Chunk, & the Roadtrip to Infinity by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
Beast by Brie Spangler
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz
Look Past by Eric Devine
Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
Nonfiction:
What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg
Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
Rethinking Normal by Katie Rain Hill
Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin
The Gender Quest Workbook
Being Jazz by Jazz Jennings
Books for Adults
Conscious Parent’s Guide to Gender Identity by Darlene Tando, LCSW
Far from the tree by Andrew Solomon (I recommend reading the first chapter, trans chapter and final chapter at the least)
Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt
Raising Ryland by Hillary Whittington & Kristine Gasbarre
The Transgender Child: A handbook for families and professionals by Brill & Pepper
The Gender Creative Child by Diane Ehrensaft, PhD
This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Gender Identity by Darlene Tando
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Beyond the gender binary by Alok Vaid-Menon
Books with Transboys:
• When the Moon was Ours
• The Other Boy
• Parrotfish
• Freakboy
• Beyond Magenta
• I am J
• Some Assembly Required: The Not-So Secret Life of a Transgender Teen
• Spy Stuff
• Not Your Villain
Books With Transgirls:
• If I Was Your Girl
• Dreadnought
• Luna
• I am Jazz
• The Art of Being Normal
• Lily and Dunkin
• Beast
• Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity
Books with Nonbinary/Genderqueer/Gender Expansive characters:
• Freakboy
• Lizard Radio
• Brooklyn Burning
• Girl Mans Up
• Lumberjanes
• Symptoms of Being Human
• Mask of Shadows
Books from Trans Voices:
· One in Every Crowd by Ivan Coyote
An anthology of more than forty stories, One in Every Crowd blends humor and heartbreak to relate the struggles of LGBT middle and high schoolers. In particular, it's trans characters struggle with everything from deciding which label best fits them to choosing which bathrooms to use.
· A + E 4ever by I Merey
A graphic novel is about two a) artistic, b) music-loving, c) Jewish, and d) genderqueer friends who consider becoming something more. From that line alone, I think it’s safe to say that we all desperately need this book.
· First Spring Grass Fire by Rae Spoon
As their father’s schizophrenia tears away at their parents’ marriage, Rae begins to realize that they don’t fit into the gender binary as neatly as they thought they did.
· The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon
The Unintentional Time Traveler follows Jack, who participates in an experimental trial to cure his epilepsy and ends up displaced in time, caught in the body of a girl named Jacqueline.
· Hello, Cruel World by Kate Bornstein
Part memoir, part gender theory, and part humorous advice, Hello, Cruel World offers alternatives to suicide for queer youth struggling to be themselves. As one Goodreads reviewer puts it, “This book is basically the “how-to” manual for the ‘It Gets Better’ project.”
· Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz
Set in a futuristic world that takes cues from our own, Lizard Radio follows Kivali, whose nonconformist guardian thrusts her into a camp where teens are forced to choose who they are (boy or girl, leader or follower) in order to become adults. An examination of binaries of all kinds (but especially the gender binary), it is absolutely worth investing in the hardback now!
· Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey
Roving Pack explores the world of queer homeless youth, a demographic that is often left behind even as the LGBT community makes strides. As Click, a trans kid, navigates throughout Portland, ze struggles not only with being genderqueer in a world that tries to force people into binaries but also with finding a place in the transgender community. An edgy and often painfully honest upper YA novel.
· I Know Very Well How I Got My Name by Elliott DeLine
I Know Very Well How I Got My Name is not an easy read. Though it chronicles Dean’s journey from childhood to adolescence, the novel focuses above all on Dean’s relationship with Amy, the girl who teaches him about gender, sex, and love, and who becomes his best friend and first crush – before things become toxic. Trigger warnings for rape and bullying.
· George by Alex Gino (middle grade/ middle school)
The story of a girl who wants to play Charlotte in her class’s rendition of Charlotte’s Web. But when her teacher refuses, calling her a boy, she devises a plan not only to get the part, but to make everyone understand who she is along the way.
· If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
If I Was Your Girl takes a familiar YA trope – a teen with a secret moves to a new town – and turns it into a powerful examination of life post-transition.