A girl like me

One thing I want to teach all my kids, boy or girl, is that reading is super important. I was an avid reader when I was younger, but eventually fell out of it because I couldn't get into as many books. I never want this to happen to my kids, but it seems like it's already happening to Callie. She really only likes about four different books, one being the Jazz Jennings book about being a transgender child that was written for children around Callie's age. I recently sat down and asked Callie why she didn't want to read and she told me it was because none of the girls in the books are like her they're all "perfect girls"(her words) it frustrates her that none of these girls have to struggle like her and she wants a girl who's like her it's hard enough being a kid, but add being a transgender kid into this mix and it's a whole lot worse. After she pointed this out I went through my daughters' books and realized Callie is right! We have books about everything-a girl doing gymnastics, a girl pirate, princesses, and so many others, but only one book that has a girl like Callie. I know a lot of people would probably argue that this is a too mature theme to have for a children's book, but this is a serious issue tons of kids are dealing with every single day. Having a book that explains what being transgender means to children would benefit not just transgender children, but their peers as well. Everyone always complains about the bullying epidemic that is going on in America and honestly the bullying of transgender children could be avoided if we took the time to teach children while they're young that this issue is real. I have talked to so many adults about our situation and they have all told me that they didn't know what transgender meant because it was never taught to them, this right here is why we need books for transgender youth out there. They need to have a voice in this world and books are the perfect place to start.