Presents the story of a transgender child who traces her early awareness that she is a girl in spite of male anatomy and the acceptance she finds through a wise doctor who explains her natural transgender status. - (Baker & Taylor)

Based on the young co-author's real-life experiences, the story of a transgender child traces her early awareness that she is a girl in spite of male anatomy and the acceptance she finds through a wise doctor who explains her natural transgender status. - (Baker & Taylor)

The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere

"This is an essential tool for parents and teachers to share with children whether those kids identify as trans or not. I wish I had had a book like this when I was a kid struggling with gender identity questions. I found it deeply moving in its simplicity and honesty."—Laverne Cox (who plays Sophia in “Orange Is the New Black”)

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. - (Penguin Putnam)

The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere

"This is an essential tool for parents and teachers to share with children whether those kids identify as trans or not. I wish I had had a book like this when I was a kid struggling with gender identity questions. I found it deeply moving in its simplicity and honesty."'Laverne Cox (who plays Sophia in 'Orange Is the New Black')

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. - (Penguin Putnam)

Jessica Herthel is a private consultant for LGBTQ-inclusive school districts and the current president of her local PFLAG chapter. Previously, Jessica was the Education Director of the Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the primary editor of an LGBTQ handbook for school administrators; and a curriculum advisor for Broward County Public Schools.  Jessica is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.
 
Jazz Jennings is a trans woman, YouTube celebrity, spokesmodel, activist, and author of the memoir Being Jazz. She has a docu-series about her life called I Am Jazz on TLC, which started airing in July 2015. She was named to Time’s “Most Influential Teens” list two years in a row, was one of Huffington Post’s “14 Most Fearless Teens,” and was the youngest person ever featured on Out’s “Out 100,” as well as on Advocate’s “40 Under 40” list. In 2014, she was named a Human Rights Campaign Youth Ambassador and received LogoTV’s Youth Trailblazer Award.  
 
Shelagh McNicholas has illustrated many books for children, including I Am Jazz, The Perfect Pony, and Little Ballet Star. She lives in England. - (Penguin Putnam)

Booklist Reviews

In 2011, a documentary was released about transgender Jazz Jennings. Now 13, Jennings tells her story. "I have a girl brain but a boy body," she explains, portraying herself from early childhood on preferring the color pink and mermaid costumes to playing with "trucks or tools or superheroes," along with a typical array of interests in dancing, soccer, and drawing. The book gives a clear explanation, even for the youngest, of how she knew that she was born different and the importance of family acceptance. Aside from a trio of small photos at the conclusion, this draws on bright watercolor illustrations done with casual realism to underscore Jennings' determined femininity. The pictures at time go overboard on the girlishness, but both art and narrative accentuate the positive, though not without commenting on the negative. Jennings is mostly surrounded by smiling, supportive friends and family members (the film tells a similar, but more emotionally charged, story), but there are teasing peers and "confused" teachers, though most are persuaded into acceptance. "I am happy. I am having fun. I am proud!" is a reassuring message for other trans or "different" children—and their families, too. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

A little girl describes how she was born with "a girl brain but a boy body" and that once her parents talked to a doctor to understand more about it, they let her be herself. There is little plot, but the straightforward text and friendly, pastel-hued watercolors fairly successfully simplify the issue of gender identity for a young audience and their caregivers.

Kirkus Reviews

An autobiographical picture book describes trans-youth activist Jazz Jennings' story of embracing and asserting her transgender identity.Both the title and the opening text proclaims, "I am Jazz!" The book goes on to detail Jazz's various interests and tastes, which follow traditionally feminine gender norms. But as Jazz goes on to explain, she has "a girl brain but a boy body. This is called transgender. I was born this way!" Although the realistic watercolor illustrations consistently display only happy faces in these beginning pages, the text recounts her family's struggle to understand her early-childhood assertion of femininity: "At first my family was confused. They'd always thought of me as a boy." Jazz recalls her pain when compelled to wear "boy clothes" in public. "Pretending I was a boy felt like telling a lie." Her parents' efforts to understand prompt them to meet with a doctor who introduces the word "transgender," which enables the family's powerful affirmation: "We understand now. Be who you are. We love you no matter what." The story balances this acceptance with honest acknowledgement of others' ongoing confusion and intermittent cruelty, and it briefly addresses Jazz's exclusion from girls' soccer in her state. Ultimately, Jazz's self-acceptance, bolstered by her family's support and advocacy, acts as a beacon for readers, trans- and cisgender alike.An empowering, timely story with the power to help readers proclaim, in the words of Jazz's parents, "We understand now." (Picture book. 3 & up) Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 1–3—This enlightening autobiographical picture book tells the story of a transgender child who knew from the time she was two that despite her physical body she wasn't really a boy. Young Jazz was passionate about her love of mermaids, dancing, dress-up, and pop stars, as well as her conviction that her gender identity was female. Readers are taken through her journey with upbeat, pink-hued watercolor illustrations that are a good complement to the cheerful tone and positive message of the story ("I don't mind being different. Different is special! I think what matters most is what a person is like inside."). Joining the ranks of new books targeted at young children that examine gender roles, such as Ian and Sarah Hoffman's Jacob's New Dress (Albert Whitman, 2014), this title highlights a topic that has not been well represented in children's literature in an uplifting and empowering way. Jazz's explanation of what transgender means ("I have a girl brain but a boy body") is somewhat simplified. However, for those looking to introduce the concept to young readers or those seeking books that value differences, this illustrated memoir is a solid choice.—Megan Egbert, Meridian Library District, ID