Summary: Known because of her hit television show on TLC, Jazz Jenning comes together with author Jessica Herthel to tell her story of realizing she was transgender and how her life changed from that moment on. The book moves from the time that she was two years old an shows how she loved to dress in pink and like a mermaid and hated to dress in boys' clothes. Her parents then take steps that many might not do and make an appointment for the doctor's to try and figure out what is going on. They tell the story in a way that is interesting and appealing to not only younger readers but to parents and educators as well. To get a better feel for who Jazz Jennings is outside of this book, check out this 20/20 interview between Diane Sawyer and Jazz herself. My Review: What a wonderful book to introduce young children to the concept and idea of transgender people. Exposure to a group of people that is outside the typical binary of what people are at a young age will only increase their understanding and acceptance in the future. The images in this children's book are great as they offer a mix of full page illustrations and some that are separated by white space to give the eyes a break. While the book doesn't go into extreme details about Jazz and the medical side of transgender, it's a great introduction to the topic. The beginning stages of figuring out being transgender are really shown in the images and text. As you can see above, there is just enough text to make the story make sense and keep younger readers interested. I would suggest reading this as a read aloud in classes to talk about diversity and acceptance of different people. Overall I would give this book a 4.5/5 rating.
If someone were looking for more information on transgender children's books whether nonfiction or fiction, this list is a good go to: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogs/scholastic-parents-raise-reader/6-picture-books-about-transgender-children. (Sorry that the link isn't live, it isn't working right now) I would also suggest checking out the TV show I Am Jazz to see a bit of Jazz's daily life.
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AuthorMy name is Chaise Carter. I am currently a grad student working towards my MLS. I love YA lit, so a majority of the books reviewed and posted will fall in that realm. Archives
November 2016
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