BOOK REVIEW: It's Okay to Sparkle! by Avery Jackson with illustrations by Jessica Udischas

 

It’s Okay to Sparkle is a picture book for younger kids from ages 4-8 about Avery, a seven-year-old girl like any other. She loves climbing trees, taking care of animals, dancing, attending Girl Scouts, and doing Tai Kwan Do. Avery is also transgender and she explains what that means in a simple, matter-of-fact way that’s easy for kids to understand. She talks about how much she loved playing dress-up in preschool, how happy being able to affirm her gender and feel accepted by her friends made her. Her playful narration helps trans and gender-nonconforming children develop the concepts and vocabulary to better explain their own identities while also encouraging empathy and understanding from cis kids. 

Avery’s narration is complimented well by Udischas’ art style, which gives the pages a feeling of motion and liveliness reminiscent of 90s-era Nickelodeon cartoons.

As fun and colorful as the book is, Avery also talks about some of the difficulties trans kids face, such as people trying to tell her she’s using the wrong bathroom; or her fear that her parents will reject her (they do not, for the record, and in fact strongly affirm her identity); or that other kid’s parents will disapprove of her out of the misguided fear that their own kids will catch the trans “disease”.

The book also addresses a pernicious talking point in anti-trans rhetoric which claims that children who say they’re trans are just “confused” and can’t tell the difference between make-believe and reality. Avery’s response to that is: “Sometimes I like pretending I’m an animal or a ninja or a princess. But that’s just make-believe”. When children pretend they’re a dragon or an astronaut, they know they aren’t actually these things. Gender, however, is a fundamental part of a person’s being, and kids- trans, cis, or nonbinary- know who they are.

Despite these difficulties, the book is still positive and affirming. As Avery explains: “Being transgender is a hard thing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be yourself.”

It's Okay to Sparkle is a charmingly straight-forward picture book encouraging empathy and understanding for kids of all genders. You can get a copy from the author’s website.