One of a Kind, Like Me/ Unico Como Yo written by Laurin Mayeno, illustrated by Robert Liu-Trujillo
From Goodreads: Tomorrow is the school parade, and Danny knows exactly what he will be: a princess. Mommy supports him 100%, and they race to the thrift store to find his costume. It’s almost closing time; will Danny find the costume of his dreams in time?
This is another one of Liu-Trujillo’s books that I had intended to put in the library collection, but was not allowed to leave our house by my daughter. We probably read this once a week. Her favorite, the spread of Nifty Thrifty, the thrift shop Danny and his mom visit to find his costume. There are racks and racks of clothes and she loves to see if she can spot any purple before Danny and his mom start their search aisle by aisle.
This is a must purchase for any family or library looking to add books about gender non conforming kids. While I’m all for books like I Am Jazz that focus on being either gender non-conforming or transgender (those must be in your collection too!), I think the beauty of this particular story is that Danny just wants a purple princess costume. There isn’t much beyond that and that’s fine. We’ve had boys come through our lower school who haven’t struggled with gender identity per se, but love to wear dresses and fancy shoes. This book is for them. Danny is confronted by his friends at the end, but he has the perfect response. Mom and Grandpa are both super supportive and don’t bat an eye when Danny presents the picture of his costume.
The story is also a great one about using your imagination and making something when you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for. Danny is convinced that his purple princess dress is at Nifty Thrifty, but they can’t find it. Just before the story closes Danny realizes all the pieces of it are there. He and his mom just have to put them together. After some cutting and sewing Danny has the costume he pictured and it’s perfect.
The pastel color palette is perfect for the gentle story and the pictures alternate between lots of white space and racks of clothing filling the page. As always the people are lovely and have great expressions and body language.
I don’t think this should be the only book you have in your collection about gender non conforming kids. It must also include books like I Am Jazz, Jacob’s New Dress, and Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress. (I am having a MUCH harder time finding books for gender non conforming girls.) But it should absolutely be there. It’s for those kids who aren’t quite sure yet about themselves and need to see their reflections. It’s also for those kids who are out there and want to be different. They’ll see themselves too. And it’s for their classmates, so they can see their diverse world, the one they see everyday, reflected. And if you think you don’t have one of those kids in your school, buy it anyways. You might not know that you do, you might eventually, and your students will eventually encounter someone like Danny. They deserve to see a wider world too.
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