"My History, My Gender, Me by Cassandra Jules Corrigan" is a super cute and fun way to learn about trans history in a really accessible way.

This is a very informative picture book about transgender and non-binary figures all throughout history. The authors do an excellent job of including many different gender identities and explaining each figure's role in history.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Hm. There are some language choices here that I don't necessarily love, and while I'm reading this book as an ARC and know that things may change, I can only go based off what I've read.

It feels like an odd choice to write these little snippets as first-person, though at this point I can't remember if the first of Corrigan's books that I read did the same thing. I was feeling a little iffy about that, but then we get to one of the exercises in the book which asks young readers to draw a trans, intersex, or nonbinary person. In my version, the phrasing runs thus: "You can use one of the characters from this book as inspiration, or make up a story for a new character you invent!"

But... these aren't characters. These are real people who exist outside the book. For reference, this book includes people like Marsha P. Johnson, Romaine-la-Prophétesse, Lucy Hicks Anderson, and more. There were a few other places where the language felt a little haphazard, but this really stands out to me. For a book that is supposed to be about history to call its subjects "characters" and conflate invention with history doesn't sit right with me at all. There were enough other odd things in here (though I won't quote too extensively as I know galleys can change) that I have deeply mixed feelings. I'm very much in favor of teaching children about history in a way that isn't whitewashed and Bowdlerized, but the implications here really bothered me. I'm not even sure that the author (as opposed to the publisher) made this choice, but it seems to me a very poor one. I'm limiting my review to NetGalley as a result.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. My thoughts are my own.

This was interesting! It was nice to read about a lot of different gender identities and historical figures with varied gender identities, but I think a kid reading this would benefit from having a bit of a background/context in trans and non-binary identities to capture what was being said and relate it to ideas of gender. 3.5/5

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! I can even find the words to accurately express how much I utterly adore this book. Every kid needs to have access to this book, whether they're queer or not. Not only is this book important, it's highly interesting. I learned a lot that I didn't know from reading this book, and I was engaged from beginning to end. I know for certain that it will be the same for young readers everywhere. I'll end by just saying this: GO READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW AND SHARE IT!!!!

This is an excellent and much-needed children's book that introduces several historical figures throughout the centuries who were a variety of gender-non-conforming identities. Each gets a few sentence biography and explanation of their gender and a portrait.

It is an excellent reminder that trans people exist, have existed for centuries, and will exist in the future, no matter what some people would have us believe.

It is a little repetitive to read straight through the whole book, in much the same way it is to read through any collection of biographies, but it's great for reading a few here and there and coming back to read more.

The portrait illustrations are welcoming and colorful and complement the text well.

This would be wonderful for any child interested in historical figures or gender-non-conforming people. Or, really, for any child, because every child should be exposed to trans people beyond what they might hear on the news.

*Thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing an early copy of this book for review.

An informative look at the history of transgender/gender queer people throughout history that proves we have always been here. It is perfectly tailored towards children and shows the history well. The art looks amazing and would do a good job of keeping kids engaged.

This was such a cute and simple book that was so insightful. As someone who has an ENTIRE collection of diverse children books, this is the first that I have read that discusses gender identity in a way that a child can understand (and maybe the only way some adults can). I enjoyed that this book spanned century and just reiterated that gender identity is not a new thing. It has always been around and is everywhere. I love the pictures, the history, and the message!

Beautiful! I loved the illustrations, the writing was clear and informative while also being fun for children. I learned way more than I expected to and definitely going to dig deeper into these historical figures.

Netgalley ARC - I think this was really well done! I appreciate the backmatter a lot and I like the inclusion of a diverse set of historical figures from different places, times, and cultures.

I really enjoyed this one. As a trans person I had heard about almost all of these historical figured with a few exceptions that I will research later. I loved the art and color and how the history was broken down into little chunks that were informative in proving that we've always been here but also gave just enough to make the reader want to do research of their own.

This is a much-needed resource for libraries, and centers that work with LGBTQ+ and Trans children and their families. The art is well-done, with historical profiles of some Trans activists I knew and others who were new to me. I love that this book offers a mirror, and a window/sliding glass door that readers can step into another person's life or see their own experiences reflected back.

As a Catholic woman and an ally, I was thrilled to see a transgender Roman Catholic saint that has been recognized by the Church. We have so far to go, but this is a step in the right direction. I look forward to reading this with my sons and helping them be allies as well.

I really needed this book. I am a trans American, and it is hard right now. It is unbelievably terrifying to watch my country and the country I'm living in currently regress on trans rights, particularly for trans kids. God forbid trans people be able to live as themselves, because that is apparently too much to ask. Reading about the history of people like me reminds me that it isn't all doom and gloom. We have existed, we existed, and we will exist.

This is a wonderful book with a good spread of trans and gender non-conforming people throughout history. I knew of some (e.g. Marinos and Marsha P Johnson), but others were new to me (e.g. We'wha and the Suontaka Person). I've now got some good fodder for some Wikipedia holes to go down. The author's note is very good for an adult reading along; as a former classics major, I particularly enjoyed the explanation for the lack of inclusion of Elagabalus (the right move, because the complexities of Roman attitudes towards gender and sexuality as relate to Elagabalus and other unpopular emperors are a bit beyond the scope of this book). The art is sweet, and maybe I'm getting overly sentimental, but I could feel the love coming from the images. I haven't worked with kids in a hot minute, but I'd give this to a child interested in learning about historical figures in a heartbeat. I know I would have enjoyed it as a kid, and I wish this sort of thing had been available to me. It might have saved me a lot of trouble later on.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A fine addition to a picture book genre that is surprisingly hard to get right. With many of these (much needed and overall wonderful) queer children's texts, I find either the writing contains so much information that it would overwhelm the intended audience, or the flow of the words becomes stilted as the author tries to jam in vocab or use a poor rhyme scheme to try and maintain interest. Not so here!

I found the writing to be pretty natural, with just enough genuine historical detail that I as an adult was extremely interested, but clear and approachable in its language overall. The format of the book, which is broken up in to mini-biographical spreads of several different gender divergent figures from a wide range of historical eras and geographic locations, makes for easy browsing and reading. Aside from the illustration for the first figure, which I found a little puzzling as it does not provide a portrait like all the others (this makes some sense is it is an archeological find of someone who lived so long ago it would be hard to guess at a portrait, but is also a little odd as it is different from all the others and the first one), the illustrations are rich, with nicely saturated colors depicting a diverse range of people.

I previously knew about a few of these figures, but learned of many, many more and would encourage adult readers who want to learn more about trans identities through history to give this book a read, as they will likely learn something new! For my part, I learned about Public Universal Friend, who had probably one of the best names ever.

I will preface my review with this: I am a proud ally BUT I don’t know certain bits of history when it comes to LGBTQ+ so what better way to learn than a children’s book. The author, Cassandra Jules Corrigan and illustrator, Moe Butterfly, did a spectacular job of putting this together.

I loved the stories included in this book. I had no idea of the prominent figures mentioned in this book who were trans. While the descriptions of the historical figures was brief, it was enough and written in such a way that kids young and old will grasp it. While I believe that this book should be made available everywhere, I know it won’t happen and that is unfortunate. However, I know this book will be made available in many other spaces, safe spaces so that makes my heart just a little happier.

I hope this book is able to be in the hands of many people, young and old. It’s brief, nicely illustrated and very informative. For us older readers who wanted a quick lesson, well now I am off to learn more about those written in this book!

Thank you, Cassandra Jules Corrigan, for bringing this to life and sharing your gifts. Thank you to NetGalley & Jessica Kingsley Publishers for making this ARC available to me. I am happy to give my honest feedback.

This was an informative book about people throughout history that were non binary or transgender, This is a great children's book to normalize that its okay to be Trans or non binary and that people are born as intersex.

My History, My Gender, Me is an informative story about historical figures and their diverse gender identities. While this book is very informative and does a great job highlighting a variety of historical figures who did not conform to the gender binary, the delivery is a bit repetitive and might not keep young readers’ attention throughout the entirety of the book. That being said, this book would be a wonderful supplement to any history curriculum! It is necessary to have these kinds of discussions with kids (and adults alike).

A great little picture book to introduce children to the concepts of gender diversity all around the world, written with examples of characters and from their voices. It's very empathetic, and while it introduces some elements that might require greater explanation from a parent or teacher, it puts the basics for these on the page as well (ie mentioning Klinefelter syndrome but describing how it affects a person more than leaning into other elements). I think this is sorely needed right now and I hope it gets handed out to many kids to learn more about the people around them and how being nonbinary, trans, or any other form of genderqueer isn't a new thing in the slightest.

I think this book is a great jumping-off place for young readers who are interested in queer history.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good peek into the history of transgender people. I do feel some of the people represented could have used more development since we know more about them (like Marsha Johnson, who we know a lot about historically speaking). I did like the author's note at the end that specified why some historical figures may have been left out due to the potential misinformation/information lost due to history.

It is a very quick read without a lot of room for reader interaction or detail, which may not interest some kids unless they feel the book relates to them, i.e., trans kids. Because of this, it might be better for younger kids to have it read to them rather than older kids who are starting to read on their own.

I am always happy to see works of queer positivity that engage readers of all ages.

This is a informative look into trans/non-binary figures throughout history. I think this provides a great resource for teaching or educating about figures in history that children/young adults would not learn about otherwise.

The writing is very straightforward and I think it could have been more engaging, but overall a good book to use as a educational tool that's well-illustrated as well.