The Boy Who Liked Girl Things

I finished the script for this children’s picture book a few years back. I’ve given printed copies of the text out to a few friends in support groups, and their kid have had fun doing drawings for the captions. I am currently seeking the right illustrator and publisher for this project; or an agent who thinks they might be able to put the package together.

Books make things real; they validate, they mirror the world. Never seeing oneself in a text is a sad thing, which takes it toll on a lot of gender non-conforming kids. Heather has Two Mommies was a breakthrough when it appeared 20  years ago in 1989. The book that explicitly normalizes gender-nonconformity has yet to be written.

So I took a crack at it.

The first time my son saw a photo of another tomgirl, another boy who liked girl things on the internet, in the private album of a friend from a support group, he was amazed; spellbound. In retrospect, I can trace to that event a lessening of my son’s sense of isolation. A kind of existential relaxation. Knowing he wasn’t the only one was a huge thing for him.

I want to bring that experience to the tens of thousands of children like my son across the country; I want schools and libraries to help the classmates of these children understand them better too.

The book is the industry standard 1000 words, in the ‘picture book’ category, aimed at 4-8 year olds; this is the age group where I feel this kind of book could have the greatest impact.

If anyone knows anyone who can give me a hand with this, please email me at bhope@acceptingdad.com. If you are an illustrator interested in the project, send me a link to your portfolio or published works, and I’ll get back to you with my feelings on whether I think your style is right for this text.