When Aidan Became a Brother - A Picture Book with a Trans Child Excited (and Nervous) About A New Baby Sibling On The Way (Definitely a Picture Book I Wish Had Been Read To Me When I Was a Little Kid!)

When Aidan Became a Brother By Kyle Lukoff, Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl's room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn't fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. Then Mom and Dad announce that they're going to have another baby, and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning--from choosing the perfect name to creating a beautiful room to picking out the cutest onesie. But what does "making things right" actually mean? And what happens if he messes up? With a little help, Aidan comes to understand that mistakes can be fixed with honesty and communication, and that he already knows the most important thing about being a big brother: how to love with his whole self.

The whole message of the story is so beautifully encapsulated by the party balloons for the arrival of Aidan's little sibling...

It's a Baby!

Yes.

Even in the dialog, there's a scene where:

"Are you having a boy or a girl?" asked a lady.

Aidan didn't like it when people asked if he was a boy or a girl, and he hoped the baby couldn't hear yet. He was glad when Mom just smiled and said, "I'm having a baby."

I loved this picture book. I think you will, too.

The author's note, where Kyle shares what parts of his own story are the same as Aidan's (when he was born, everyone thought he was a girl, too) and what parts are different... And these words really resonated for me:

Aidan is a transgender kid, but he's also just a kid. Like you.
Life for Aidan, and for all different kinds of kids, will be full of growth and change. I don't know what the future holds for him, but I hope he lives in a world that supports and believes in him. Thank you for helping to create that world.

Yeah. Let's create that world, together.

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