Calvin

JR Ford, Vanessa Ford

Penguin, Nov 9, 2021 - Juvenile Fiction - 32 pages

In this joyful and impactful picture book, a transgender boy prepares for the first day of school and introduces himself to his family and friends for the first time.

Calvin has always been a boy, even if the world sees him as a girl. He knows who he is in his heart and in his mind but he hasn't yet told his family. Finally, he can wait no longer: "I'm not a girl," he tells his family. "I'm a boy--a boy in my heart and in my brain." Quick to support him, his loving family takes Calvin shopping for the swim trunks he's always wanted and back-to-school clothes and a new haircut that helps him look and feel like the boy he's always known himself to be. As the first day of school approaches, he's nervous and the "what-ifs" gather up inside him. But as his friends and teachers rally around him and he tells them his name, all his "what-ifs" begin to melt away.

Inspired by the authors' own transgender child and accompanied by warm and triumphant illustrations, this authentic and personal text promotes kindness and empathy, offering a poignant and inclusive back-to-school message: all should feel safe, respected, and welcomed.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - PagesandPieces - LibraryThing

Calvin written by JR and Vanessa Ford and illustrated by Kayla Harren features a child named Calvin who always knew he was a boy, even though everyone knew of him as a girl. The book starts when he ...

User Review -

This is not a book for young people to read. Especially those who are led to be confused by this deceptive spirit of choosing whether they are a boy or girl. Children were create by The only Living God in His image. He created them to be as they are.

About the author

JR and Vanessa Ford are nationally-known advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, specifically, rights for transgender youth. Their advocacy and work has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and in "Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric." They were both founding members of the Human Rights Campaign's Parents for Transgender Equality Council. They live with their two children, one of whom is trans, in the Boston, MA area.

Kayla Harren graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She illustrated the award-winning picture books A Boy Like You and The Boy Who Grew A Forest. Kayla draws pictures at her home in Minnesota, where she lives with her husband and dogs.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Calvin
• Authors: JR Ford, Vanessa Ford
• Illustrated by: Kayla Harren
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin, 2021
• ISBN: 0593108671, 9780593108673
• Length: 32 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / LGBTQ; Juvenile Fiction / School & Education; Juvenile Fiction / Social Themes / New Experience