Written By: Gayle E. Pitman
Illustrated by: Violet Tobacco
For Ages: 4 years and up
Language: English
Topics Covered: Family, Intersex, Gender Neutral Pronouns, Parents, Single-Parent Families.
Summary:
This book is gorgeous, and perfect for representation of non-binary, trans, and Intersex parents. Our main character is a young child, narrating about the parent who they call Maddy. Maddy is in between a Mom and a Dad, and they exist in the beautiful in between space on a lot of things such as hair color, eye color, and they love the transitional seasons like spring and fall. The pair have a beautiful relationship full of fun activities and going on walks.
Prolific LGBTQ book author Gayle Pitman wrote this book with inspiration of an Intersex Maddy that she personally knows. In the back is a slew of resources about being Intersex, having a parent or family member transition, and fostering resilience through conversation with children. My Maddy is a really important book for education, normalization of family structures, and a discussion tool for children who have family members that are transitioning or Intersex. Giving kids the tools to navigate potential bias or transphobia that they come up against in schools is an unfortunate but necessary tool for their toolbox. Magination Press always does a fantastic job providing developmentally appropriate resources for educators, parents, and families in these books, and this is no exception. The information in the back also alleviates some of the emotional labor that these individuals would need to perform for educators and schools when they inevitably have questions about how to address and introduce the parent to the class.
This book was kindly sent to us by Magination Press, but all opinions are my own.
Gayle Pitman
Gayle E. Pitman, PHD teaches Psychology and Women/Gender Studies by day at Sacramento City College. By night, she writes children’s books and engages in other forms of subversive creativity. Her debut picture book, This Day in June, won the 2015 ALA Stonewall Award, was a Rainbow List Top Ten pick, and won the IRA’s 2014 Notable Books for a Global Society Award. How’s that for her first shot at writing children’s books! Her books, teaching, and general commentary have been featured in publications ranging from School Library Journal to The Advocate. She has also been interviewed on National Public Radio, the BBC News, “Good Day Sacramento,” and various podcasts.
Violet has a background in theatre and has created storyboards, a graphic novel, character concepts and portraits. She lives with her wife in Atlanta, GA.