PICTURE BOOK - I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings

Illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas

2014 Dial Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Penguin Group)

HC $17.99

24 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.12 - 1313 ratings

My rating:  Think I'm going with a 4

Endpapers: Pale pink

1^st line/s:  "For as long as I can remember, my favorite color has been pink. (My second-favorite color is silver and my third-favorite color is green.)"

My comments:  A child with a girl's brain and a boy's body.  So unfair, and so good that books are written about kids like this.  There are more than most people think, I'm guessing....I'm thinking of some of the kids I've taught in the past umpteen years.  To have parents that understand, and accept is the first step.  To have peers understand and accept is the next.  And a book like this goes a long way towards that, I would think.  This is ased on the true story of a now-teen named Jazz (who is NOT white, so why make this protagonist white, I wonder) - a beautiful young lady.  She's "written" a memoir, which I just found in the teen section of the library and checked out.

Goodreads:  The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere.
          From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.