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Calvin
2021
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Trade Reviews
Booklist Review
ldquo;For as long as I could remember, I knew I was a boy," a sweet-faced child (part white, part Black) tells the reader. But what will he tell his parents, who believe he is a girl? Why, his truth! After he makes his announcement, they reassure him, saying, "We love you if you are a girl, boy, neither, or both." Next to find out are his grandparents, who accept him, too, without reservation. But with his new boys' clothes and shorter haircut, what will he experience at (gulp) school? He needn't have worried, for, happily, they universally embrace him. Not only that but his new name is everywhere--on his cubby, on the name tag on his table, on the lunch chart, and, well, everywhere! Finally, the denouement: he reveals that his name is, you guessed it, the same name as his beloved toy lion, Calvin! This is one happy book that reflects an idealized world, a way we all wish it could be, and that's all right. Illustrator Harren's softly colored, realistic pictures capture that world and Calvin's look perfectly--he's cute as the proverbial button. Finally, the coauthors write with gentle insight, for, as they share in an endnote, they have a trans child themselves.
Kirkus Review
After coming out to his family as transgender, a biracial (half Black, half White) boy thrives. A young, brown-skinned child who presents as a girl has always felt like a boy inside and wants to be called Calvin. Admitting this openly is scary, but with loving parental support, the child begins to express his true self. He, his mother, and his father spend the summer at his grandparents' house, a vacation that turns out to be "the best ever." The family have fun visiting a comic-book convention and a waterpark where Calvin gets to wear trunks for the first time and makes a friend with whom he proudly shares his new name. Before school reopens, Calvin's family helps him shop for boy clothing, and his grandfather cuts off his hair. Calvin worries his classmates won't accept him, but his friends and teachers readily validate his gender expression, bolstering his confidence and joy. This transition story depicts a community cultivating an affirming environment in which a child can flourish. The first-person narration reveals Calvin's inner fears, but his identity and transition never cause external conflict, a welcome departure from the problem-focused storylines of other coming-out picture books written by cisgender adults. However, the text emphasizes that Calvin's gender is in his heart and brain, perpetuating a problematic narrative that divorces transgender people from their bodies. Harren's warm, expressive illustrations communicate much of the emotion in the story and are populated with diverse background characters who have various body sizes, skin colors, hair textures, and disabilities. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A valuable model of intentional, compassionate response to gender expansive kids and their needs. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Summary
In this joyful and impactful picture book, a transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time.

Calvin has always been a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl. He knows who he is in his heart and in his mind but he hasn't yet told his family. Finally, he can wait no longer- "I'm not a girl," he tells his family. "I'm a boy--a boy in my heart and in my brain." Quick to support him, his loving family takes Calvin shopping for the swim trunks he's always wanted and back-to-school clothes and a new haircut that helps him look and feel like the boy he's always known himself to be. As the first day of school approaches, he's nervous and the "what-ifs" gather up inside him. But as his friends and teachers rally around him and he tells them his name, all his "what-ifs" begin to melt away.

Inspired by the authors' own transgender child and accompanied by warm and triumphant illustrations, this authentic and personal text promotes kindness and empathy, offering a poignant and inclusive back-to-school message- all should feel safe, respected, and welcomed.
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