Written by Kyle Lukoff, and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
I have never read this book before.
Ratings: Amazon: 4.8 out of 5 stars. Goodreads: 4.55 out of 5 stars.
The American Library Association awarded this book the Stonewall Book Award.
Summary: This story shows Aiden’s journey in gender identity and how he feels about being a big brother.
In February 2023, The Escambia County Public School board voted to ban this book and two others (“All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “And Tango Makes Three”). This book was on a list that was submitted by a district high school teacher Vicki Baggett. “When Baggett brought her list of books to the district, she claimed the books were filled with “indoctrination” and “LGBTQ agenda.” However, when the books were brought before the district’s Instructional Materials Review Committee, their recommendation to support all three books said otherwise. The Instructional Materials Review Committee, composed of administrators, teachers, parents, and community members per district requirements, found that all three books did have educational merit and did not violate Florida statute as the complaint originally stated.”
My take: Like the Pride book about Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, this book is artistically beautiful. While many see this book for the gender identity plot, my favorite part is when Aiden is worried about making a mistake for his younger sibling. Aiden’s mother admits that she and his father made mistakes as well, but he taught them how to love people who exactly they are. To me, that is what is most important to understand about this story.
So, what would make people try to ban this book? This book is one of many that were singled out by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s campaign on anything about wokeness with the passage of HB 1557, often referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This bill prohibited classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.
Here are a few links about this book and the challenges or bans.
Book challenges: Which titles are being cut from K12 and where (districtadministration.com)
Escambia County Florida school board bans 3 books with LGBT references (pnj.com)
Children’s picture books are the next targets for book bans – The Washington Post
The Banned Book Reviewer 
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