Trans gender queer

Trans / Intersex / Genderqueer / Gender Nonconforming Books

for Kids and Teens

All of these books are part of our QUILTBAG list of books for kids and teens. We've moved the books about trans and gender issues to this list to help parents and kids looking new books to read and share. The books are listed in order by the year they were published, so we can track changes across the years.

Picture Books with trans, intersex, or gender non-conforming main characters

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (1936)
Oliver Button Is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola (1979)
Amazing Grace By Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch (1991)
The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein (2002)
The Boy Who Cried Fabulous by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Peter Ferguson (2004)
10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Rex Ray (2008)
My Princess Boy by Cheryl Kilodavis, illustrated by Suzanne DeSimone (2010)
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss, illustrated by John Hendrix (2011)
Mary Walker Wears the Pants: The True Story of the Doctor, Reformer, and Civil War Hero by Cheryl Harness, illustrated by Carlo Molinari (2013)
Jacob's New Dress by Sarah & Ian Hoffman, illustrated by Chris Case (2014)
I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas (2014)
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall (2015) [Actually about color rather than gender; an excellent illustration of one's inside identity differing from one's outside label.]
Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, illustrated by Mike Curato (2016)
Pink Is for Blobfish: Discovering the World's Perfectly Pink Animals by Jess Keating, with illustrations by David DeGrand (2016) [Technically this is only here because it features non-stereotypical creatures in pink -- though it does, as it happens, include an intersex species.]
Who Are You? The Kid's Guide to Gender Identity by Brook Pessin-Whedbee, illustrated by Naomi Bardoff (2017)

Middle Grade Books with trans or gender non-conforming main characters

Texas Tomboy by Lois Lenski (1950)
Tatterhood and Other Tales, edited by Ethel Johnston Phelps, with illustrations by Pamela Baldwin Ford (1979)
The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, starting with Alanna: The First Adventure (1983) [Note: I'm always a bit puzzled as to whether this quartet is middle grade or young adult, as Alanna ages from 11-14 in the first book and 14-18 in the second, and then beyond in the last two.]
The Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce, starting with First Test (1999)
No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Willow Dawson (2008)
Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky (2014)
George by Alex Gino (2015)
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (2016)
The Other Boy by M.G. Hennessey (2016)

YA Books with trans, intersex, or gender non-conforming main or secondary characters

Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit (1988)
Luna by Julie Anne Peters (2004)
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (2006)
Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger (2007)
Freak Show by James St. James (2007)
How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity, edited by Michael Cart (2009)
Being Emily by Rachel Gold (2012)
Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (2012)
If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan (2013)
For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu (2014)
None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio (2015)
What We Left Behind by Robin Talley (2015)
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (2016)
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (2016)
Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard (2016)
Noteworthy by Riley Redgate (2017)