Children Literature: He’s My Mom! by Sarah Savage (2021) Review

Why I picked up the book:

He’s My Mom! Is a child’s book that introduces trans identities, transitioning, pronouns and misgendering concepts in an age-appropriate way.

The book through my criteria lens:

I felt that Sarah Savage did a wonderful job creating a book about trans identities in a way that was age appropriate, respectful and concise. Joules Garcia illustrations were clean, inclusive and complemented the book perfectly. I feel that both story and illustration were representative, diverse and inclusive. He’s My Mom! Will definitely find its spot in my bookshelves.

My personal feelings:

I remembered when my child was in first grade, a classmate of his changed their name to represent the gender they identified with. The school tried to be inclusive, and the adults did a very good job embracing and respecting this change, but they did fail in making children understand the change.

I loved the language in the book, it’s simple, accurate and child friendly. As an educator, I really appreciated the reading guide at the end. It has great conversation starters to further discuss the topics with children. My favourite part was the way it was mentioned that people can make gendering mistakes, but it’s important to learn to pay attention because being misgendered is hurtful.

I am looking forward to other books in the series (I hope they exist) especially about a child who identifies with a different gender than the one they were born as. If anything, I wish this book featured a couple. I do not feel that there’s anything wrong with being a single parent, but I will make sure children don’t think Bambi’s mom is single because he transitioned.

My total rating: 4.83