Books for All - Recommended Books for Trans, Nonbinary, and Gender Expansive People

Below is a LARGE list of books we love and we hope they will be helpful for you and your journey. There are a number of other resources providing great book lists to explore too. Other book lists we love include:

Easy reads and picture books (Prek & Elementary)

  • 10,000 Dresses, Marcus Ewert & Rex Ray, 2008.

  • 47,000 Beads, Koja Adeyoha & A. Adeyoha, 2017. 

  • A House for Everyone: A Story to Help Children Learn about Gender Identity and Gender Expression, Jo Hirst & Naomi Bardoff, 2018. 

  • Annie’s Plaid Shirt, Stacy B. Davis, 2015. 

  • A Peacock Among Pigeons, Tyler Curry, 2015.

  • About Chris, Nina Benedetto, 2015.

  • All I Want to Be is Me, Phyllis Rothblatt, 2011.

  • Are You A Boy Or A Girl?, Sarah Savage, 2017. 

  • Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero, Ellie Royce, 2020.

  • Backwards Day, S. Bear Bergman, 2000.

  • Ballerino Nate, Kimberly B. Bradley, 2006.

  • Be Amazing: A History of Pride, D. Napaloes, 2020. 

  • Benny’s True Colors, Norene Paulson, 2020. 

  • Be Who You Are, Jennifer Carr, 2010.

  • Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope, Jodie Patterson, 2021.

  • BunnyBear, Andrea J. Lonely, 2017.

  • But, I’m Not a Boy, Katie Leone, 2015.

  • Call Me Max, Kyle Lukoff, 2019.

  • Call Me Tree Llamame Árbol, M. Gonzalez, 2014.

  • Elena’s Serenade, Campbell Geeslin, 2004.

  • From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea, Kai Cheng Thom, 2017. 

  • Guthli Has Wings, Kanak Shashi, 2020. 

  • Happy in Our Skin, Fran Manishki, 2015. 

  • Hello, My Name is Octicorn, Justin Lowe, 2013.

  • He’s My Mom!: A Story for Children Who Have a Trans Parent or Relative, Sarah Savage, 2020.

  • Hooray, What A Day!/¡Viva,Qué Día!, Sunny Allis, 2020. 

  • I am Jazz, Jessica Herthal & Jazz Jennings, 2014.

  • I’m Not a Girl: A Transgender Story, Maddox Lyons & J. Verdi, 2020.

  • Introducing Teddy, Jessica Walton, 2016.

  • It Feels Good to Be Yourself: A Book About Gender Identity, Theresa Thorn, 2019. 

  • It’s Okay to be Different, Todd Parr, 2009.

  • Is It a Boy, Girl, or Both?, Megan Rohrer, 2016.

  • Jacob’s New Dress, Sarah & Ian Hoffman, 2015.

  • Jack (Not Jackie), Erica Silverman, 2018. 

  • Jamie and Bubbie: A Book About People’s Pronouns, Maria Bogade, 2020.

  • Julian Is a Mermaid, Jessica Love, 2018. 

  • Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World, Mildred Pitts Walter, 1948.

  • Kate and the Beanstalk, Mary P. Osborne, 2000.

  • Love, Z, Jessica Zima, 2018. 

  • Max and Friends (Series), Kyle Lukoff, 2020. 

  • Meet Polkadot, Talcott Broadhead, 2013.

  • Michael and Me, Margaret Baker-Street, 2014.

  • Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress, Christine Baldacchino, 2014.

  • My Dad Thinks I’m a Boy?!: A Trans Positive Children’s Book, Sophie Labelle, 2020.

  • My Maddy, Gayle E. Pitman, 2020. 

  • My Name Is Troy, Christian A’Xavier Lovehall, 2021.

  • My Princess Boy, Cheryl Kilodavis & Suzanne DeSimone, 2011.

  • Neither, Airlie Anderson, 2018. 

  • Not Every Princess, Jeffrey Bone, 2013.

  • Oliver Button is a Sissy, Tomie dePaola, 1979.

  • One of A Kind / Único Como Yo, Laurin Mayeno, 2016. 

  • Peanut Goes for the Gold, Jonathan Van Ness, 2020. 

  • Perfect Square, Michael Hall, 2011.

  • Red: A Crayon’s Story, Michael Hall, 2015.

  • Sam is My Sister, Ashley Rhodes-Courter, 2021.

  • Sex Is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU, Cory Silverberg, 2015.

  • Sparkle Boy, Lesléa Newman, 2017.

  • Sylvia and Marsha Start a Revolution: The Story of the Trans Women of Color Who Made LGBTQ+ History, Joy Michael Ellison, 2020. 

  • The Adventures of Tulip, S. Bear Bergman, 2019.

  • The Answer, Rebecca Sugar, 2016. 

  • The Boy and the Bindhi, Vivek Shraya, 2016. 

  • The Boy in the Dress, David Walliams, 2008.

  • This Day in June, Gayle E. Pitman, 2014.

  • The Family Book, Todd Parr, 2006.

  • The Manny Files, Christian Burch, 2006.

  • The Name I Call Myself, Hasan Namir, 2016. 

  • The Little Library, Margaret McNamara, 2021. 

  • The Pronoun Book, Chris Ayala-Kronos & Melita Tirado, 2022

  • The Sissy Duckling, Harvey Fierstein, 2002.

  • Toby Wears a Tutu, Lori Starling, 2021. 

  • Tomboy Trouble, Sharon Dennis Wyeth, 1998.

  • We Are Little Feminists: Families, Archaa Shrivastav, 2020. 

  • What Are Your Words: A Book About Pronouns, Katherine Locke, 2021. 

  • What Makes a Baby?, Cory Silverberg, 2013. 

  • When Aidan Became a Brother, Kyle Lukoff, 2019. 

  • When Kathy is Keith, Wallace Wong, Xlibris, 2013.

  • When Kayla was Kyle, Amy Fabrikant, 2013.

  • Who Are You? The Kid’s Guide to Gender Identity, Brooke Pessin-Whedbee, 2016.

  • Wild, Emily Hughes, 2013.

middle grade (Grades 4-8)

  • A Boy Named Queen, Sara Cassidy, 2016. 

  • Another Kind, Trevor Beam, 2021.

  • Better Nate Than Never, Tim Federle, 2013. 

  • Both Can Be True, Jules Machias, 2021. 

  • Cattywampus, Ash Van Otterloo, 2020.

  • DeadEndia (Series), Hamish Steele, 2018.

  • Dodge City, Josh Trujillo, 2018. 

  • Lily and Dunkin, Donna Gephart, 2016. 

  • Gracefully Grayson, Ami Polonsky, 2016.

  • Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words, Lindsay Herriot & Kate Fry, 2021.

  • Melissa, Alex Gino, 2015. 

  • My Life as a Diamond, Jenny Manzer, 2018.

  • Not Your Sidekick, C.B. Lee, 2016.

  • Obie Is Man Enough, Schuyler Bailar, 2021.

  • Prince and the Dressmaker, Jen Wang, 2018.

  • Redwood and Ponytail, K.A. Holt, 2019.

  • Snapdragon, Kat Leyh, 2020.

  • Spin With Me, Ami Polonsky, 2021.

  • The Breakaways, Cathy G. Johnson, 2019.

  • The Deep & Dark Blue, Niki Smith, 2020. 

  • The Derby Daredevils (Series), Kit Rosewater, 2019.

  • The Fabulous Zed Watson!, Basil and Kevin Silvester, 2021.

  • The Hammer of Thor, Rick Riordan, 2016.

  • The Moon Within, Aida Salazar, 2019.

  • The Pants Project, Cat Clarke, 2017.

  • The Prince & The Dressmaker, Jen Wang, 2018.

  • The Witch Boy, Molly Knox Osterag, 2017.

  • This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us, Katherine Locke (Editor), 2021.

  • Zenobia July, Lisa Bunker, 2019. 

  • 99% Chance of Magic: Stories of Strength and Hope for Transgender Kids, Amy E. Heart, 2020.

High school / YOUNG ADULT (GRADES 9+)

  • Act Cool, Tobly McSmith, 2021. 

  • Becoming a Visible Man, Jamison Green, 2004.

  • Being Emily, Rachel Gold, 2012.

  • Being Jazz, Jazz Jennings, 2016.

  • Between Perfect and Real, Ray Stoeve, 2021. 

  • Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin, 2015.

  • Black Flamingo, Dean Atta, 2019.

  • Birthday, Meredith Russo, 2019.

  • Boys Run the Riot (Series), Keito Gaku, 2020.

  • Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas, 2020.

  • Coming Out, Jaime Seba, 2010.

  • Cosmoknights, Hannah Templer, 2019.

  • Felix Ever After, Kacen Callendar, 2020.

  • Fence (Series), C.S. Pascat, 2017. 

  • Freakboy, Kristin E. Clark, 2016.           

  • Gracefully Grayson, Ami Polonsky, 2016.

  • Gender Queer: A Memoir, Maia Kobabe, 2019.

  • I Am J, Cris Beam, 2012.

  • If I Was Your Girl, Meredith Russo, 2018. 

  • It’s Not My Favorite, Rue, 2014.

  • I Wish You All The Best, Mason Deaver, 2019.

  • Magical Boy, The Kao, 2022. 

  • Mooncakes, Suzanne Walker, 2019.

  • On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, 2018.

  • Out of Salem, Hal Shrieve, 2019. 

  • Parrotfish, Ellen Wittlinger, 2007.

  • Pet, akwaeke emezi, 2019.

  • Redefining Realness, Janet Mock, 2014.

  • Rethinking Normal, Katie Rain Hill, 2015.

  • Riding Freedom, Pam Munoz Ryan, 1999.

  • Run, Clarissa, Run, Rachel Eliason, 2012.

  • Sasha Masha, Agnes Borinsky, 2020.

  • She/He/They/Me: For the Sisters, Misters, and Binary Resisters, Robyn Ryle, 2019. 

  • Some Assembly Required:  The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen, Arin Andrews, 2015.

  • Stage Dreams, Melanie Gillman, 2019.

  • Stay Gold, Tobly McSmith, 2020. 

  • Symptoms of Being Human, Jeff Garvin, 2017.

  • Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir, Liz Prince, 2014.

  • The Art of Being Normal, Lisa Williamson, 2018.

  • The Backstagers, James Tynion IV, 2017.

  • The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, Tom Leger, 2012.

  • The Complications of T, Bey Deckard, 2015.

  • The Gender Quest Workbook:  A Guide for Teens and Young Adults  Exploring Gender Identity, Rylan Tests & Deborah Coolhart, 2015.

  • The Ghosts We Keep, Mason Deaver. 2021.

  • The Other Boy, M.G. Hennessey & Monster, 2016.

  • The Passing Playbook, I.Fitzsimmons, 2021. 

  • The Witch King, H.E. Edgmon, 2021.

  • Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, & The Fight for Trans Equality, Sarah McBride, 2019.

  • Too Bright to See, Kyle Lukoff, 2021.

  • Trans Teen Survival Guide, Fox Fisher, 2018.

  • Under the Shifting Stars, Alexandra Latos, 2020.

  • You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things, Cory Silverberg, 2022. 

Books for Educators, Providers, & Caregivers

  • 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous, Graeme Aitken, 2015

  • Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, Amy Ellis Nutt, 2016.

  • Beyond the Gender Binary, Alok Vaid-Menon, 2020.

  • Circle of Change, Laney Cairo, 2016.

  • Helping Your Transgender Child, Irwin Krieger, 2011.

  • Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, Andrew Solomon, 2012.

  • Found in Transition: A Mother’s Evolution During her Child’s Gender Change, Paria Hassouri, 2020.

  • Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy, GNC Children, Diane Ehrensaft, 2011.

  • Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, Katie Bornstein, 2010.

  • How We Do Family: From Adoption to Trans Pregnancy, What We Learned about Love and LGBTQ Parenthood, Trystan Reese, 2021. 

  • My Child is Transgender: 10 Tips for Parents of Adult Trans Children, Matt Kailey, 2012.

  • My Daughter He: Transitioning with our Transgender Children, Candace Waldron, 2014.

  • Principles of Transgender Medicine and Surgery, R. Ettner, S. Monstrey, & E. Coleman, 2016.

  • Rainbow Family Collection: Selecting and Using Children’s Books with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Content, Jamie Campbell Naidoo, 2012.

  • Raising the Transgender Child: A Complete Guide for Parents, Families, & Caregivers, M. Angelo, 2016. 

  • Raising Ryland. Hillary Whittington, 2016.

  • Second Son: Transitioning Toward My Destiny, Love, and Life, Ryan K. Sallans, 2012.

  • She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders, Jennifer Finney Boylan, 2013.

  • Stuck in the Middle With You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders, Jennifer Finney Boylan, 2013. 

  • The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation, Jodie Patterson, 2019. 

  • The Gender Affirmative Model: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Supporting Transgender and Gender Expansive Children (Perspectives on Sexual Orientation and Diversity), Colt Keo-Myer (Editor), 2018. 

  • The Gender Creative Child, Diane Ehrensaft 2016.

  • The Reflective Workbook for Parents and Families of Transgender and Non-Binary Children: Your Transition as Your Child Transitions Workbook, D.M. Maynard, 2020. 

  • The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals, Brill & Pepper, 2008.

  • The Transgender Teen, Stephanie A. Brill & Lisa Kenney, 2016.

  • Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Trans Community, Laura Erickson-Schroth, 2015.

  • Transgender Children and Youth: Cultivating Pride and Joy with Families, Elijah C. Nealy, 2017. 

  • Trans-kin: A Guide for Family & Friends of Transgender People, Cameron Whitley (Editor), 2012.

  • Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle, and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children, Rachel Pepper (Editor), 2012. 

  • Trans/Portraits: Voices from Transgender Communities. Jackson Wright Shultz, 2015.

  • Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, Jennifer L. Levi, Ed., 2012.

  • Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, Susan Stryker, 2017.

  • Transgender Transition: Quick Start Guidebook, Sky Logan, 2016.

  • Transitions of the Heart: Stories of Love, Struggle, and Acceptance by Mothers of Transgender and Gender Variant Children, Rachel Pepper, Ed., 2012.