Born Ready - by Jodie Patterson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Just before his fifth birthday, Penelope lets his mother know he is a boy and, with her support and his ninja powers, faces the rest of his family and his classmates. Drawn from the author's memoir, The bold world.

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"This representation of a Black family and transgender child shines with joy and affirmation... A triumphant declaration of love and identity." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A heartening true story for children that offers guidance to caretakers." --Publisher's Weekly

"Readers will be rooting for Penelope from the first page to the last." --The Horn Book

About the Author

Jodie Patterson is the author of The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation and was Family Circle magazine's Most Influential Mom in 2018. She is the mother of five children, two of whom are self-proclaimed gender nonconformists--one transgender and another genderqueer. Jodie was inspired to write Born Ready to show how an entire community can be flexible and change for those they love. Jodie raises her family in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at georgiany.com.

Charnelle Pinkney Barlow is an illustrator, an expert tea drinker, and a lover of all things doughnuts. She discovered a love for drawing and painting during her childhood in Poughkeepsie, New York, which led her to the world of children's book illustration. She now lives in Indianapolist, Indiana, with her husband Jukabiea.