My Maddy

by Gayle E. Pitman, Violet Tobacco (Illustrator)

Overview

A loving, affirming ode to parents who are gender fluid or gender nonbinary.

My Maddy has hazel eyes which are not brown or green. And my Maddy likes sporks because they are not quite a spoon or a fork. Most mommies are girls. Most daddies are boys. But lots of parents are neither a boy nor a girl, My Maddy shows how some of the best things in the world are not one thing or the other. They are something in between and entirely their own.

Randall Ehrbar, PsyD, offers an insightful note with more information about parents who are members of gender minority communities, including transgender, gender nonbinary, or otherwise gender diverse people.

ALA’s 2021 Rainbow Book List Top Ten Title for Young Readers

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433834264
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Gayle E. Pitman, PhD, is a professor of psychology and women's studies at Sacramento City College. Her teaching and writing focuses on gender and sexual orientation, and she has worked extensively with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) community. She is the author of This Day in June, When You Look Out the Window,  Feminism From A to Z and Sewing the Rainbow. This Day in June was the winner of 2015 Stonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award and Top Ten Title, ALA Rainbow List. In 2019, it was named as an 11 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2018 List book by ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom. She lives in California. Visit her gaylepitman.com and follow her on Facebook: @GaylePitmanAuthor, Twitter: @GaylePitman, and Instagram: @GaylePitman.

Violet Tobacco illustrates from her townhome in north Atlanta. As a coffee enthusiast, she enjoys traveling her city to explore different cafes from which she can work. Having a background in theatre, she has translated her adoration for storytelling into illustration. When taking it easy, Violet and her wife watch animated films and play video games in the company of their three grumpy cats and cloud-shaped pup. Violet has the great fortune to work with other creative individuals and create wild and whimsical worlds that help us better understand who we are. Visit VioletTobacco.com and @VioletTobacco on Twitter and Instagram.
 

Editorial Reviews

I love the depiction of a non-binary parent. It is a very nice celebration of the relationship between a parent and child, each of them being as they are.

Kiss the Book

My Maddy is a heartfelt narrative that marries refreshingly unapologetic LGBTQ illustrations with text that many child readers will be able to relate to. This celebration of nonconforming parents is a nuanced and noteworthy addition to any home, classroom, or library.” —Booklist Starred Review

Booklist

Gayle Pitman has written a celebratory book about parenthood that is both heartwarming and informative. Look at that gorgeous cover filled with an abundance of love, joy, and rainbow pride. It is so inspiring, as is the text which is filled with positive images and concepts of one’s family.

Children's Books Heal

2020-03-15
A loving, celebratory window into a young child’s relationship with their nonbinary parent.

The latest in Pitman’s LGBTQ books for children introduces young readers to a parent whose gender identity and expression are “entirely fantastically their own”—not a mommy or a daddy, but “my Maddy.” Told from the perspective of a light-skinned, redheaded child, the story normalizes what’s “in between, and kind of both,” which is everywhere in nature, from dawn (“it’s not day and it’s not night,” Maddy explains) to the color hazel (a mix between green and brown). Vignettes from the main characters’ everyday lives are vibrantly depicted in artist Tobacco’s bold, full-bleed illustrations, including walks to school, snacktime, and stories before bed. Particularly noteworthy is the heartwarming scene when Maddy kisses their kid goodbye before dropping them off at school: Beside a glowing portrait of the beaming family, the text reads, “Maddy’s kisses feel like sandpaper against my face.” Such positive images of gender-nonconforming presentations are rare in children’s literature, making this a valuable addition to any school, public, or personal library for its engaging art and accessible representation for a wide age range. The adult-oriented backmatter uses person-first language and identifies the book’s inspiration as intersex; notes on intersex identity and supporting children in understanding their parents’ genders are accompanied by resources. Unfortunately, one of these is the Human Rights Campaign, known for its fraught relationship with trans communities.

Much needed in the landscape of family-oriented picture books. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews