Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope

by Jodie Patterson, Illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow Crown Books for Young Readers 4/20/2021, hardcover SKU: 9780593123638   Jodie Patterson, activist and Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, shares her transgender son's experience in this important picture book about identity and acceptance. Penelope knows that he's a boy. (And a ninja.) The problem is getting everyone else to realize it. In this exuberant companion to Jodie Patterson's adult memoir, The Bold World, Patterson shares her son Penelope's frustrations and triumphs on his journey to share himself with the world. Penelope's experiences show children that it always makes you stronger when you are true to yourself and who you really are. Target age: 4 to 8 Reviews: "This representation of a Black family and transgender child shines with joy and affirmation... A triumphant declaration of love and identity." -- Kirkus Reviews " Readers will be rooting for Penelope from the first page to the last." -- The