SOME OF MY FAVE LGBTQ CHILDREN'S BOOKS IN WHICH NO ONE GETS BULLIED

Dear educators working hard to teach fundamental human decency, history and visibility in the face of grave intimidation, it is with your temperaments guiding me that I created a short list for Shepherd.com of some of my favorite LGBTQ+ children's books in which no one gets bullied, based on research I did at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center.

I could only choose five, which was the hardest part, so I tried to select books that don't always get as much attention as the others. Read about them here.

A More Graceful Shaboom is published!

Thank you to everyone for helping the five year old me who typed stories on a blue plastic typewriter grow up and have the biggest dream come true. A More Graceful Shaboom can now be ordered from my website and Etsy! If you know a LGBTQAI+ family who would like this book, spread the word!

BRAND NEW KID'S BOOK! KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN!

I wrote my first ever children's book and I cannot wait to share it with you! I have loved kid's books all my life and it honestly feels like a dream come true to actually make one.

At its core, this book is an adventure book. A More Graceful Shaboom is a story of a child with two moms who finds a mysterious purse that seems to be a key to another dimension. I have always wanted kid's books about queer people that are celebratory and funny, about love and mystery, which maybe even drop a little unsuspecting time travel on you, and are not just lesson books about gender.

Many people live with the privilege of seeing others like themselves ubiquitously in media. This is not so much the case for LGBTQ folks. So I consulted with the stars, the children, and illustrator Crystal Vielula. Together we made an enchanted book just for you, the ones who have been here with me all along.

We need your help to make this book happen! Printing a hard cover book is extremely costly for a small publishing house. In order to get the book printed, my longtime publisher PM Press/Reach & Teach is launching a Kickstarter campaign. With your support, we will print the book and get it out to you by September. Follow along HERE.

Thank you for always rooting for me!

The Poem and Coloring Books That Inspired the Gender Subversion Poster

by Jacinta Bunnell

In 2004, I toured the United States for the first time. I packed carefully for the nine weeks on the road, trying my best to bring clothing that wouldn’t show dirt as washing machines would be infrequent along the way. I would be staying at punk houses and campgrounds across a large portion of the United States, much of which I would be seeing for the first time. On the day of our departure, I piled into a van affectionately dubbed “Brown Town” with Paul Heath and Michael Wilcock, who were the two-person band The Kiss Ups, and Eric Ayotte, who curates the traveling film series Gadabout Film Festival. I brought along my queer feminist coloring zines, which I had been distributing through zine distros and fests, independent and feminist bookstores, and social justice catalogs. This was before lots of people had websites, so folks ordered my zines by sending an email to colormegenderless@facehugger.com or sticking some cash in an envelope and mailing it to my P.O. box. 

As we pulled into our first stop and set up for an evening of performances, I noticed a poster based on my work hanging in the bathroom. As each town rolled by on our tour, it swiftly became apparent that nearly every punk house and infoshop across America had this same poster hanging up somewhere. This is the story of how it came to be.

In the introduction to our large format coloring zine Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book (2001), Irit Reinheimer and I wrote a fictional story about children liberating their neighborhood from restrictive gender socialization. Our friend Jon Ellis, who worked at a copy shop, graciously comped us the first fifty copies of the zine. When we had given away or sold those initial fifty copies, we began working with the offset printer Canaltown Press, who also happened to be my landlord, to print the zine in batches of 200 because orders kept coming in. Whatever we made in sales went right back into printing the next batch. The zine was black and white, but we added a bit of pizzazz by printing the cover on different colored cardstock. Irit and I designed our cover image by combining two illustrations by Laura Ann Newburn (one punk person wearing a dress, the other wearing pants) which she had created for Bamboo Girl Zine (1995) by Margarita Alcantara. 

The children in the introductory story of this zine danced, wore spangles, dug ditches and built stages. Gender was not a restrictive force in our characters’ definitions of who they could be and what they were capable of. Irit and I had spent months researching children's books and academic writings about gender for this zine. One of our inspiring finds was the poem For Every Woman (1973) by Nancy R. Smith which we had found tucked in a corner of a zine somewhere. This felt like a buried treasure from the 1970s.

“For every woman who is tired of acting weak when she knows she is strong, there is a man who is tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.

For every woman who is tired of acting dumb, there is a man who is burdened with the constant expectation of “knowing everything.”

For every woman who is tired of being called “an emotional female,” there is a man who is denied the right to weep and to be gentle.

For every woman who is called unfeminine when she competes, there is a man for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity.

For every woman who is tired of being a sex object, there is a man who must worry about his potency.

For every woman who feels “tied down” by her children, there is a man who is denied the full pleasures of shared parenthood.

For every woman who is denied meaningful employment or equal pay, there is a man who must bear full financial responsibility for another human being.

For every woman who was not taught the intricacies of an automobile, there is a man who was not taught the satisfactions of cooking.

For every woman who takes a step toward her own liberation, there is a man who finds the way to freedom has been made a little easier.”

— For Every Woman (1973) by Nancy R. Smith

For Every Woman had such a fantastic way of calling out the gender binary for pigeon-holing us all into very gendered expectations of who we were supposed to be. There was not a culturally unified language for talking about gender fluidity at this point, so much of how we spoke of gender was still either/or. 

Irit and I wrote an adaptation of Smith’s poem to include in the introduction of our coloring zine, accompanied by a footnote which read “based on a poem by Nancy R. Smith,” assuming that this was an honest way of acknowledging her work.

Here is our adaptation of Smith’s poem:

For every girl who is tired of acting weak when she is strong, there is a boy tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.

For every boy who is burdened with the constant expectation of knowing everything, there is a girl tired of people not trusting her intelligence.

For every girl who is tired of being called over-sensitive, there is a boy who fears to be gentle, to weep.

For every boy for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity, there is a girl who is called unfeminine when she competes.

For every girl who throws out her E-Z-Bake oven, there is a boy who wishes to find one.

For every boy struggling not to let advertising dictate his desires, there is a girl facing the ad industry’s attacks on her self esteem.

For every girl who takes a step toward her liberation, there is a boy who finds the way to freedom a little easier.

As you can see, some of the words are altogether changed, some are near direct quotes, and others are our own interpretations of Smith’s original message. We had not thought of contacting Smith, since we were so immersed in a zine ethos which did not seem to concern itself with copyright issues and utilized the photocopier as a means of democratizing information. We also never expected our zine to end up in the hands of more than a few hundred people. 

When someone at CrimethInc. found a copy of our zine, they asked our permission to print posters which would feature the words of our adapted poem along with our zine’s cover image. We agreed, not thinking anything of it. Zinesters have always photocopied, borrowed, culture jammed, and collaborated on art, ideas, and writing.

In a staggering feat of mass information dispersal, CrimethInc. ended up circulating hundreds of thousands of these posters. We did not ask for or receive any compensation. They are still available today on CrimethInc.’s website where you can purchase a bundle of posters called a “Gender Subversion Kit”. The back of the poster contains images and text from our coloring zine, redrawn to be one uniform illustration style, and questions about gender, which were taken directly and with our permission from our zine. 

These posters have made their way around the world, into classrooms, libraries, clinics, guidance counselor’s offices, pride marches, dorm rooms, shelters, punk houses, teenage bedrooms, and colleges. I recently saw a meme that featured the poster along with the text “if she doesn’t know who this is, she’s too young for you bro” (@infinity_quiche on Instagram). I regularly receive texts from friends who spot this poster in all manner of places, sometimes even on a wall in a tv show. Recently, my friend Neko Case sent me a photo of the poster from the green room of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Syracuse Cultural Workers, a publisher and distributor of social justice materials, who was a substantial early distributor of our coloring zine, wanted to create their own version of the poster so that this message could reach even more people. Syracuse Cultural Workers had an audience of educators and activists not typically reached by CrimethInc. We granted permission and suggested they also contact Nancy R. Smith and Laura Ann Newburn. Making some minor aesthetic changes, they enlarged the poster and created postcards in English and Spanish. 

In 2004, Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be... became a book published by Soft Skull Press and we sought out some of our favorite illustrators to bring the messages more to life since the illustrations in the original zine were images that we had borrowed and satirized. This book also contained the adapted poem, crediting Smith as the inspiration. 

All versions of the poster, postcards, and book have always given this credit to Smith. In 2005, she approached us with a potential copyright infringement lawsuit. We had no intention of offending the writer of this iconic poem, so Irit and I sent an apology letter detailing the history of the zines, books, and posters, suggesting Smith contact CrimethInc. and Syracuse Cultural Workers since the printing of the posters was not under our auspices. We let Syracuse Cultural Workers and CrimethInc. know about Nancy’s concerns and trusted that they would handle things from there. No lawsuit was ever filed.

This book eventually went out of print because Counterpoint Press dropped this title when they absorbed Soft Skull Press. When I reissued Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book in 2018 with PM Press, I omitted the poem and wrote an entirely new introduction to the book that did not include any lines from Smith’s poem or our adaptation of the poem. 

Since 2001, I have continued to publish queer feminist coloring books (including Girls Are Not Chicks, and Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away With Another Spoon). My second publication Girls Are Not Chicks (2003) was a self-published zine for several years. I did all the distribution myself, but it eventually became taxing to pester bookstores for consignment money when dealing with thousands of copies. At this time, bookstores were swiftly sinking underwater and could barely pay rent on their buildings, let alone pay independent authors. At some point, I submitted the manuscript to AK Press in an attempt to relieve myself of that burden, but it was rejected. When Ramsey Kanaan left AK Press to start PM Press, he reached out to me and asked if I would like Girls Are Not Chicks Coloring Book to be one of their first titles. I jumped at the chance and have gone on to publish a total of five coloring books with PM Press/Reach & Teach.

CrimethInc. and Syracuse Cultural Workers still distribute the Gender Subversion posters. On their websites, all copies of the poster and postcard state “adapted from a poem by Nancy R. Smith”. I get asked about this poster all the time and am grateful to fully explain the complex origin story here. I have regrets that we did not reach out to Smith in the beginning, before things snowballed into something so huge. As astounding and inspiring as it is to see this message of liberation reach so many people who are moved by it, I feel bad that we had a hand in upsetting another writer.

Since that first tour, I have had several other opportunities to travel the U.S. and Canada, one time in an old brown diesel Mercedes converted to run on used vegetable oil which we had to pump from grease dumpsters each day, staying in co-ops where the residents called meetings with conch shells in order to vote on whether we would be allowed to stay overnight. Another time I toured with a multi-media overhead projector show featuring pages from my coloring books with Neko Case, the whole crew heading to a theater on Easter Sunday to see Blades of Glory together. I’ve learned that each part of the country has its own unique pace and style, met people who have become friends for life and seen things I never dreamed of seeing. These days I tend to derive more pleasure from staying in, building a fire in the woodstove and watching the logs slowly burn rather than indulging in the long drives of a country-wide tour, but it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend it. You might even find your work hanging in a punk house bathroom someplace.

I owe a huge thanks to Jen Doll, Rebecca Mir Grady, Michael Wilcock, and Billy McCall for thoughtful editing advice on this piece.

AT THE BRADBURY-SULLIVAN CENTER - A ROUND-UP OF LGBTQ CHILDREN’S BOOK REVIEWS

 About the author: Jacinta Bunnell has been creating coloring books for LGBTQAI+ families since 2001. She is the author of Sometimes the Spoon Runs Away With Another Spoon, girls will be boys will be girls will be..., The Big Gay Alphabet, and Girls Are Not Chicks. She is a former health educator for Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley.

I spent a week in early November at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. What a privilege to be invited to be an artist in residence at an LGBTQ center that is the closest to my hometown in rural Pennsylvania. One of the highlights for me was getting to meet the two folks the center was named after, Liz Bradbury and Trish Sullivan. Trish and Liz have been full-time advocates for LGBTQ communities since the 1970s, founding early campaigns that led to marriage equality, non-discrimination in the workplace, and domestic partner legislation. They were also the first couple from Pennsylvania to get a Civil Union. It is always an honor to be around such guardians of progressive movements.

I got to work with and get to know some of the teens who come to the center for programs every day after school. We also had a really fun coloring party. In addition to conducting workshops, I dedicated my time at the center to researching the large collection of children’s books with LGBTQ content in their library. All the children’s books in their lending library have either been donated by supporters or purchased with grants. 

I offer here a roundup of the books I read while in residency. This is not an exhaustive list of children’s books with LGBTQ representation; it is comprised of the books available to me while at the Center. If you notice that your favorite book is not on this list, I encourage you to donate books to: Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, 522 West Maple Street, Allentown, PA 18101. For further research, Lee Wind writes an amazing blog that has an exhaustive list of books for young readers with LGBTQ content.

What I discovered this week is that there is a plethora of books about trans and queer children getting bullied and then having to do the heavy lifting of saving the day so that the cis straight world can find them to be likeable heroes. We can be accepted into your world once we are helpful to you. I do see the point in having teachable moment books, but I can’t help but notice that publishers LOVE to give contracts to didactic books. This leaves us with a dearth of books for young readers that feature LGBTQ people doing everyday things.

I also had the feeling that authors of LGBTQ children’s stories have been left out on these deserted islands, with few publishers, editors, or designers to make their books be the best they can be for the broadest audiences. I have thought a lot about access this week. Who has access to publishers? Who are the gatekeepers to the publishing worlds and why have they only given access to certain stories? Perhaps you will have your own questions and answers after reading my roundup. Here goes:

Colors of Aloha (2019) by Kanoa Kau-Arteaga - I love how you casually get introduced to the main character’s brother’s boyfriend, Peleke, while the kids in the story are on a scavenger hunt for natural things in the colors of the rainbow. I give this book an A++++. This is one of many Flamingo Rampant Press books I read this week. Their website states this: “We don’t publish books that have primary narratives about bullying, ostracization, harassment or violence. If your book is about a kid who is made to feel like their identity or family is a problem, that’s not going to be a book for us.” Amen!

Bridge of Flowers (2019) by Leah Lakashmi Piepzna-Samarasinha - This book features one parent who is an herbalist in a wheelchair. I am so grateful every time a person is depicted with a mobility device in a book since it is so rare to see in most media. The other parent identifies as bapa (yay! I know so many of these who never see themselves in books), uses they/them pronouns and forearm crutches, and is a scientist. There is also a non-binary hip teenage sibling. The story follows these parents who live in separate homes connected by a bridge of medicinal herbs. The children use alchemy to connect a disconnected world, starting with their parents’ disagreements and moving out to the larger world. The ending tries to fit a bit too much into the last few pages. I say this lovingly because I really would like to see this as a longer book or TV series!

It’s A Wild World (2019) by Bear Bergman - This gem is like The Magic School Bus series, but instead of an elementary school class, we follow the adventures of a GSA who are learning about all the ways animals are non-binary, feminist, intersex, or gay. You are introduced to parrotfish who can change from female to male; butterflies who are intersex; lemurs who raise their children in a polyamorous matriarchal society; and all manner of facts you can learn at a field trip to the zoo with a queer teacher. This book also features a non-binary character named Izzy who uses they/them pronouns! If I had any critique of this book, it would be that it takes place in a zoo and it is hard for me to stomach the myriad of ways humans have put animals on display in cages or manufactured environments.

Love is in the Hair (2015) by Syrus Marcus Ware - This book has my favorite layout and design of all the Flamingo Rampant Press books. It features a child who is having trouble sleeping while her parents are at the hospital having a baby. The art is phenomenal! Her gay uncles are sweetly taking care of her and explain what all the jewels, beads, fabric, and shells mean that are woven into one uncle’s dreadlocks. It ended too soon! I wanted more!

Lots of Mommies (1983) by Jan Jones - This book was published by Lollipop Power Press, an iconic publishing house formed in 1969 in North Carolina. I am a sucker for old school one-color illustrations (these ones are forest green against an off-white background). A child named Emily is raised in an intentional community of four women. One mom is studying to be an electrician. Another is a healer. Vicki drives a school bus. Annie Jo is a carpenter who loves to cook. Emily gets made fun of and not believed at school for having lots of moms, but then it all turns around when she falls off the monkey bars and all her amazing, capable moms get called in to care for her at school and suddenly it's très cool to have so many moms. I want this book to have a revival. It’s so good.

A page from Mia’s Two Grammas

Mia’s Two Grammas (2016) by Dr. Judith Shepard Gomez - This one made me cry when the main character’s mom reveals that when she was young, she used to lie to her friends, pretending she only had one mom. I also teared up when the two grandmas rushed up the waterslide to let the main character know she was safe when she had a panic attack her first time on a waterslide. Then they all slide down together in cute bathing suits! Grandmas on a theme park waterslide FTW! I rather enjoyed the quirky illustrations by Christo Carire.

I Have Two Dads- DIFFERENT Types of FAMILIES (2016) by Madeleine Gasperi - Written and illustrated by a 16-year-old. I LOVE HER ARTISTIC STYLE SO MUCH.

King and King (2000) by Linda deHaan and Stern Nijland - I have mixed feelings about this book. So many kids are steeped in princess/prince/queen/king stories and I am grateful for this one story that we can throw in the mix, featuring a gay marriage woven in naturally and humorously. It takes the classic story of a king requiring his daughter to marry someone and switches the plotline around, but that plotline has always been problematic because, well, FORCED MARRIAGE and also royalty. The book is funny, but sometimes at the expense of the females in the book. I do love the illustration style and how the ending really surprises you.

King and King and Family (2004) by Linda deHaan and Stern Nijland - This is a continuation of the story of our newly married kings from the previous book. The kings appear to be white, and well, many kings have been colonists, right? They take a vacation into “the jungle” and when they return, “a little girl from the jungle”, who is illustrated as a brown girl, ends up mysteriously in their suitcase and they all lived happily ever after in their very white, rich, and powerful kingdom. EEEEEK. International adoption is a very complex, highly debated topic. And this book does not seem to help the discussion.

Two Dads (2016) by Carolyn Robertson - This is a sweet adoption story about two dads who seem pretty cool. It’s good to have adoption stories on our shelves for everyone to read. This story is told from a child's perspective and shows just how fun and adventurous having two dads can be, normalizing LGBTQ families. 

About Chris (2015) by Nina Benedetto - I kinda love this little book about a trans boy who explains to his teacher that from the belly button down he is a girl and from the belly button up he is a boy, because there are so many ways to be trans. The illustrations are colorful and unique.

Dad and Daddy Tuck Me In (2015) by Michael Dawson - I like this book because it is cute and sweetly silly and features two dads.

The Baby Kangaroo Treasure Hunt: A Gay Parenting Story (2009) by Carmen Martinez Jover - I cannot wait for the day to come when we don’t need a subtitle like this, when queer people are featured casually, as opposed to didactically, in kids’ books. This book addresses surrogacy and egg donors through two male kangaroo’s quest to have a baby. I am slightly tired of seeing animals stand in for humans. We need to see ourselves as we are, without animals representing us. I found this book confusing.

Jacob’s Room to Choose (2019) by Sarah & Ian Hoffman - If you need a book about gender-inclusive bathrooms, this one features a supportive teacher who turns a teachable moment into an opportunity to create all-gender bathrooms in a school. It is not without a moment of bathroom harassment for the trans child though.

When Kayla Was Kyle (2013) by Amy Fabrikant - I like the illustrations a lot. A trans child’s dad and classmates say disparaging things to her and call her a loser. She gets a stomachache, gets left out of games, sits alone at lunch, and talks about suicide. Of course, it resolves in the end. I suppose it can be a teaching aid to get kids to wake up to the harm bullying causes, but when this is the only narrative about trans and queer kids, what are we teaching our children?

The Pea That Was Me: A Two Moms’ Sperm Donation Story (2016) by Kimberly Kluger-Bell - In this book, an actual pea is grown in a woman’s tummy as a metaphor for pregnancy. Please, no more babies growing in tummies! Babies grow in wombs or uteruses. Especially if we are going to draw them as garden peas! The adults in the story have green heads like they are peas also, which makes the whole thing very confusing. The sex educator in me wants to ban this book.

My Uncle's Wedding (2011) by Eric Ross - If you are looking for a story about gay uncles getting married, here it is. “They must really love to cook because everyone gave them pots and pans” is my favorite line.

A page from Heather Has Two Mommies

Heather Has Two Mommies (1989) by Lesléa Newman - At one time, this book was literally the ONLY CHILDREN’S BOOK with LGBTQ content that was widely accessible. Mama Jane and Mama Kate are soooooo cute! Kudos to Lesléa for using the word womb instead of belly, and also for saying the words vagina and breasts in a children’s book in 1989. I like the midwife's mullet A LOT. I hadn’t read this book since before I became an author myself, and now that I have read through 1000s of children’s books, I feel even more grateful for Newman’s pioneering, funny, thoughtful, carefully-edited writing. She is succinct, without leaving out interesting details. She gives specifics without being too didactic. This book was rereleased in 2013 with new illustrations by Laura Cornell, which brings the book to a contemporary audience.

Daddy and Pop (2016) by Tina Rella - “We were given an egg by a pretty girl” with a “lovely lady” as a surrogate. That’s all I have to say about this one. This book has an accompanying music CD which I did not get to listen to.

Why I’m So Special: A Book About Surrogacy With Two Daddies (2011) by Carla Lewis-Long - I absolutely love the illustrations which were done by Bryna Jean-Marie (age 9). And as much as I like the use of the word “ladies” ironically with my friends, I don’t love it in stories for kids. Polly, the lady surrogate, gets treated to a trip to Paris and also a French poodle to thank her for being a surrogate, which is, well, just PRETTY WILD. “Surrogates are very special ladies who can carry babies in their tummies for daddies.” Again, with the tummies.

Zak’s Safari (2014) by Christy Tyner - I read a lot of books about donors this week and I like this one a lot for how it explains eggs, sperm, different family configurations, sperm banks, donors, and genes. Best of all, the author never refers to a womb as a BELLY! Also, the family sometimes argues which I think is a really great addition to these types of books which tend to idealize queer families.

Two Mums and a Menagerie (2015) by Carolyn Robertson - While I am not in love with the font choice and book design, this is a really sweet story. 

The New Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Mama Bear, Mommy Bear, and Baby Bear (2012) by Beth McMurray - If you've been looking for a new Goldilocks and the Three Bears story, this time with two moms, this one is for you!

Gloria Goes to Gay Pride (1991) by Lesléa Newman - In 1992, Lesléa came to my college and spoke in a beautiful old chapel about her work. I hadn’t ever been in that chapel before, and I haven’t been back to that chapel since. I do not belong to a house of worship and I am a children’s book author who writes about LGBTQ people, so I kinda think this makes Lesléa Newman my minister. Mama Rose makes a sign that says GAY MECHANIC HEALING THE PLANET. Mama Grace makes a sign that reads GAY NURSE HEALING THE EARTH and has a tambourine in her knapsack. SO GOOD. Of course, Andrea the mail carrier, the music teacher with the mustache, and Richard the nurse are all at the pride parade. The line “Usually my mommies don’t hold hands when we go out, but today they do because today is Gay Pride Day” is like a punch in the eye, it is so real. They chant “2-4-6-8. Being gay is really great” while people on the sidewalk cheer and clap. Can we bring that back? Also, I cried when the lesbian moms buy each other presents from the gay-owned vendors at the parade. 

Be Who You Are (2010) by Jennifer Carr - This is an educational story about a trans girl named Hope who faces challenges in her family and school in regard to clothes, bathrooms, girl/boy lines at school, Halloween costumes, and name changes. Hope has supportive parents who navigate her through the changes. It is a sweet book if you are looking for a way to help young readers learn about trans children, and for young trans people to see themselves in a book. 

A page from Families: A Coloring Book

A page from Families: A Coloring Book

Families: A Coloring Book (1991) by Michael Willhoite - From the press that brought you Heather Has Two Mommies, How Would You Feel if Your Dad Was Gay?, and Daddy’s Roommate. I absolutely love coloring books, but I had no idea this one existed. It’s like my book took a DNA test and suddenly found out it had a grandpa it never knew existed. I wanted to LOVE this book. But for a book about diverse families, I sure wish the cover wasn’t a white heterosexual couple with three children who brought their grandma to a theme park. I kinda love the zany aunt page best, because that's definitely me. There isn’t a ton of queer representation, but there is some.

Neither (2018) by Airlie Anderson - An animal who is both/neither bird/rabbit gets bullied for not fitting into the binary world called “This and That” and flees their home, finding a beautiful world where everyone is fluid. It feels like an allegory for LGBTQ people fleeing our small towns where no one gets us for major urban centers...and made me feel a little sad that we can’t always stay. But I get it.

Pink is For Boys (2018) by Robb Pearlman - This book explores the notion that racing cars and sports uniforms, unicorns and flowers, fancy clothes and crowns, all colors... are for everyone, no matter what gender you are. This is a very short, but fun, book.

The Boy With Pink Hair (2011) by Perez Hilton - Many children’s books use couched metaphors to teach a lesson about acceptance and inclusivity. The main character was born with pink hair and loves to cook. He gets made fun of in school and gets called “weirdo.” But then the boy with pink hair saves the day when the stove at school stops working and suddenly becomes the hero of his whole town. It is one of so many stories featuring an LGBTQ characters who has to go above and beyond just to prove that they are worthy of any love at all.

Red: A Crayon's Story (2015) by Michael Hall - This is a story about a blue crayon who has been mislabeled with a red label. Everyone calls him Red, but inside the wrapper, he is Blue. Everything he draws is blue and everyone is so confused and mad at him. They shame him for not doing anything right. Finally, a kind, sensitive purple crayon comes along, acting as that friend who sees us sometimes before we even see ourselves and asks Red to draw a blue ocean. It’s the first time anyone has ever asked him to do that and it is magic! All of life feels like a relief! After reading 1,000s of children’s books in my lifetime, I do wish that the main character was she, since I can’t tell you how many times the default pronoun is he. But I love this book a lot. 

My Princess Boy (2010) by Cheryl Kilodavis - I was delighted when this book came out and Cheryl got all sorts of press. I love the illustrations. Princess Boy falls prey to the same mockery many of the gender non-conforming people in books for children experience, but it is a true story and needs to be told. 

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress (2014) by Christine Baldacchino - I was super excited by the title and illustrations on the cover of the book. But then page 7 arrives and Morris is getting made fun of already for enjoying a dress in the dress up center at school. He gets assaulted by a child who is literally trying to tear his clothes off. He dissociates and lives in a fantasy world to get by. After he gets excluded from every single activity at school and tormented, some children say, “we don’t want you to turn us into girls.” ARRRRGGH. I can’t handle this storyline anymore. Mostly everyone in the story eventually comes around by the end, but Morris had to be the one to teach everyone what is so flawed about their abusive behavior.

Max (1976) by Rachel Isadora - This is just a perfectly great story about a boy who loves ballet AND baseball, written in the 1970s, but which still holds up today. AND NO ONE EVER MAKES FUN OF HIM.

All Kinds of Families (2009) by Mary Ann Holerman - The illustrations are beautiful, the story is full of rhymes, and it's fun to read. But it has lines like: “As soon you’re born, you’re a daughter or son.”, “A comb and a brush can be husband and wife, a plate and a bowl can me missus and mister.”  It talks about how carrots, fingers, clams, yams, buttons and bottle caps can all form a family if they are bundled together, but it never actually gets to different makeups of human families.

A page from What Makes a Baby

What Makes a Baby (2012) by Cory Silverberg - I love this book. It’s 100% perfect. It contains gorgeous colorful illustrations about how a baby is made without ever making anyone feel they are different for conceiving a baby in the particular way they did. “Not all bodies have sperm in them.” AMAZING. It never says “most men have sperm and most women have eggs, blah blah blah…” the tired old way of making all trans, intersex and non-binary folks feel that they are an exception to some rule. The book discusses uteruses without saying things like “all women have uteruses”. I LOVE CORY SILVERBERG SO MUCH! And not just because we had breakfast once.

Uncle Andy’s (2003) by James Warhola - This is a story told by Andy Warhol’s nephew. You get a fun, behind-the-scenes visit into the life and family of a famous queer artist. I laughed out loud when Andy gives all his old wigs to his family and they all wear them.

Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing (2017) by Kay Haring - I love the way Keith’s sister Kay tells the story of her brother, a queer art icon. This book gives power to all people who love to draw, not just those who went to school for it. I learned so much about Keith Haring by reading this book. It’s fun and gives some interesting trivia, like the fact that he gave away his first large work after he won a contest with it in high school.

The Family Book (2003) by Todd Parr - I found this to be an all-around decent book, inclusive of LGBTQ families. The last page ends with “All families can help each other be strong” and I had been looking at books too long so I thought it said, “All families can help each other stop snoring” and now I think that would be a fun book.

The Mommy Book (2002) by Todd Parr - At this point Todd Parr is as ubiquitous as frozen yogurt. This book is letting you know that moms can do anything and are very diverse in their interests. I did cringe at the line “all mommies like to hang out with you”. Raise your hand if you are a child of emotional neglect.

Families, Families, Families (2015) by Suzanne Lang - I think I read at least 25 books about how all families are different this week. These types of books seem to be an industry favorite (All Families Are Special, Love Makes a Family, etc.) The illustrations are weird and wonderful. The gay dads come before, not after the straight family (which is almost always the first thing you see on the very first page of most books about families). 

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (2018) by Jill Twiss - We’ve all heard of this book about Mike Pence’s pet rabbit who falls head over heels for another male rabbit. BUT WHERE ARE THE FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK? In that way, it reminds me of Winnie-the-Pooh, an utterly widely-read famous book that has one female and she’s a MOM. I have an age-old grievance with children's book authors who address most of the animals with he/him pronouns. (There is one flower girl.) That aside, I love this hilarious story that gives the Vice President some crap for being so homophobic.

And Tango Makes Three (2005) by Justin Richardson and Pepter Purnell - This is a true story of a same sex penguin couple named Roy and Silo. At this point, it is a classic, even though it is about a zoo, which I am 10,000% not into. I love the sad moment when Roy brings a rock back for them to sit on just like the other penguin couples who are sitting on eggs. Mr. Gramzay comes to the rescue with an egg that needs to be cared for from a hetero penguin couple named Betty and Porkey, who had too many eggs. Is there a follow-up story that tells about their female baby Tango who then goes on to mate with another female? I wish. What is not in the book is that Silo ends up with a lady penguin named Scrappy from SeaWorld shortly after the book gets released, and Roy ends up in a big group of unattached bachelor-style male penguins. I kinda want to see the Cartoon Network version of this soap opera.

This Day in June (2014) by Gayle E. Pitman - There are not many words in this book, but it is a beautifully illustrated celebration of yearly Pride Marches. 

10,000 Dresses (2008) by Marcus Ewert - This is a story about a trans girl who dreams big, even though her mom, brother, and dad insist on calling her a boy. She even gets called “gross” by her brother, who threatens bodily harm to her. Finally, a neighbor shows her the healing power of friendship by sewing dresses with her. 

Stella Brings the Family (2015) by Miriam Schiffer - This is a terrific book about how a child deals with the questions that come up about who to bring to a Mother's Day celebration at her school when she has a Papa and a Daddy. Thankfully, she never gets made fun of, and only feels stressed out for a small part of the book. 

Not Every Princess (2013) by Lisa and Jeffrey Bone - This is a book with only a few words that lets you know princesses can look like Vikings and boys can be ballerinas. I particularly love the note to caregivers at the back of the book which begins with an anecdote about the first woman to referee the NFL, and then goes on to talk about the crippling effects society’s enforcement of gender roles have on all of us. 

I had the best time reading all these books. I laughed out loud. I cried. I was inspired to no end. I felt the love that each author and illustrator put into each one of their books. It is no small feat to write a quality children’s book.

If we want to teach children about a better world, we need to continue providing them with books that are celebratory of queer and trans life, that give glimpses into the profoundly nuanced and dazzling world we inhabit. It seems we are spending some years calling out the bullies right now. Hopefully there will be a time when we move on to books where we are not being made fun of for our clothes, and not being harassed and intimidated. It honestly was a little traumatic to read so many stories of queer and trans kids getting harmed this week all at one time. We have been so hungry for representation that have taken some deeply trauma-laden narratives into our homes and schools. I hope this is a stage we are going through as a culture to get to a place of better representation and someday soon have shelves of books to choose from that are about mystery, adventure, time travel, and joyful abandon, all with LGBTQ characters. 

Winter Markets 2019

Save the date: Winter Markets

It's that time of year again! If you're in Hudson Valley or Western Mass this month, stop by and visit me and lots of other wonderful makers at these fairs:

16th Annual Bard College Arts and Crafts Fair
December 6th, 11AM-6PM
Bertelsmann Campus Center, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY

Sudbury Winter Gift Sale
December 7th, 10AM-4PM
Hudson Valley Sudbury School, 84 Zena Rd., Kingston, NY

Winter Pop Up Market
December 14th + 21st, 5-8PM
Old Glenford Church Studio, 210 Old State Route 28, Glenford, NY

Western Mass. Queer Makers Market
December 15th, 11AM-5PM
FlyWheel Arts Collective, 43 Main St., East Hampton, MA

Hope to see you there!

XO,
Jacinta

Queerbook Committee in residence at the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center

Yours truly will be the artist in residency today and tomorrow at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center. Join me for the public events if you are near Allentown, PA!

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center’s artist-in-residence series presents Jacinta Bunnell, 6 p.m. Nov. 11. Attendees can create coloring books and at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, join a community coloring party, 522 W. Maple St. at Bayard Rustin Way, Allentown. For more information, visit bradburysullivancenter.org, jacintabunnell.com or queerbookcommittee.com.

Las niñas pueden ser reyes is here! 🎉

A NEW SPANISH TRANSLATION OF GIRLS ARE NOT CHICKS

In 2009, I received an email from an educator in Nicaragua named Fernanda Siles who offered to translate my second coloring book Girls Are Not Chicks into Spanish after buying it at a conference. I could not have been more thrilled! The translated document sat on my computer for nine years before my publisher was ready to turn it into a book. Today, I am excited to announce the completion of the book after many years of anticipation!

Every day we hear stories on the news of Latinx folks here in the U.S. and those south of the U.S. border being recipients of brutal hostility and violence. At the same time, we see these same communities courageously risking everything so that they and their children can thrive. We see Latinx people organize despite this repression, many of them young girls. I am so inspired by their mobilization and offer this book as a token of love and appreciation that celebrates these brave and powerful activists, educators and communities of care.

The title of this book is Las niñas pueden ser reyes: Libro para colorear (Girls Can Be Kings Coloring Book), inspired by Seondeok of Silla, a seventh-century Korean girl who became the first queen of Silla despite a misogynist uprising against her fueled by the motto “girls can’t be kings!” I learned of her from the incredible book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This new book would not look as good as it does without the team of support I have around me. I want to thank my extraordinary interns Alanna Rebbeck and Joan Mena who assisted me with the redesign, and my partner Michael Wilcock for his technical design prowess. I am filled with gratitude to have met the multi-talented Maria Cristina Brusca, a bilingual children’s literature editor, who adroitly helped with final edits. Of course, I owe a world of gratitude to Fernanda Siles, who so carefully translated the book into Spanish because she wanted her students and consequently, all of you, to be inspired by it.

REVIEWS OF THE BOOK:
“Once again, Jacinta Bunnell has created a coloring book where children are encouraged to color their liberation dreams. In the pages of Girls Can Be Kings, little girls (and all readers, really) are inspired to resist social limitations, find strength in community, and have the courage to create their own narratives in a world determined to control their choices.” -Dr. Jessica N. Pabón-Colón, Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora

“For over 17 years, Jacinta has been giving us images that educate and revolutionize creative minds of all ages. This book features more art, more truth, and this time en español!"  -Cristy C. Road, Next World Tarot, Spit & Passion, Choked Up

Coloring Contest at Fort Lewis College

A little Friday flashback to start the weekend off with this coloring contest at Fort Lewis College!

We love seeing your colored pages. Tag us on Facebook and Instagram if you want to share your own.

Save the Date: Join Me at Sassafras Mercantile for Rainbows & Unicorns

RAINBOWS & UNICORNS

MIXED MEDIA PAINTINGS by YOURS TRULY

OPENING RECEPTION at SASSAFRAS MERCANTILE, 37 BROADWAY, KINGSTON, NY
AUGUST 3rd, from 5-8 PM with some lite snacks, rosé from Whitecliff Vineyards, and herbal iced tea.

Music will be provided by DJ Jeré. Jeré is a Brooklyn-based producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and Afro-Fractalist.

Sassafras Mercantile is also the newest stockist of the Queerbook Committee coloring books!

The exhibition will be on view through August 29th.

Sassafras is a metaphysical mercantile for personal liberation, specializing in farm to cup herbal teas, as well as home goods and wellness products that liberate mind and body. They carry potions, books, zines, tarot and oracle decks, accessories and jewelry, and herbal products.

www.sassafrasmercantile.com

JOIN THE QUEERBOOK COMMITTEE AT THE SUMMER SOLSTICE QUEER MAKERS MARKET

Join me on June 23rd at the Western Mass Queer Makers Market!

I’ll be in some stellar company that you won’t want to miss, and I’ll have your favorite queer coloring books.

Here’s the amazing line up:

The Western Mass chapter of SURJ (Showing up for Racial Justice)

Willow the Wisp Metalwork

Threshold Academy

Yours Truly a.k.a. the Queerbook Committee

Anne Thalheimer

Chuck Bayliss

blossoming resistance

Leather Coven

adarlingdeer

Blue Whale Apothecary

Six of Hands

Witches’ Ladle Collective

John Mangiapane

kiah

Branch & Beak

Wild Fae Arts

Matt Becker

Bee

closer to the ocean

Wild Fancy Design

sew tender designs

Wild Femme Designs

Heks Botanicals

owen

K.B. Ceramics

Kelsey Kassis

Emi Holler

Flame & Honeycomb

Come visit us:

Sunday June 23 from 11-4pm

Flywheel Arts, 43 Main St. Easthampton, MA

Queerbook Committee in Simi Stone's Latest Music Video "Fragile Hearts"

You may remember the great Simi Stone from her illustration in Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…, pictured below. In addition to being an wonderful artist, she is also an amazing musician! You can find more of her music and artwork on her website. Last week, we had a rollerskating party and it’s featured in her newest music video!

Yes, that’s me in the white sweatshirt!

Next week Simi Stone will be performing at No One Like You Live! organized by Queerbook Committee Alumni Julie Novak, who co-wrote Girls Are Not Chicks with me.

No One Like You Live! celebrates the one year anniversary of the podcast. It’s on Saturday, June 15th at 8pm at 323 Wall St. in Kingston, New York. Get your tickets here.

Come celebrate with me and the rest of the Queerbook Committee!

QUEERBOOK COMMITTEE in The Art Of The Everyday Objects show at Wired Gallery

This Saturday May 25 from 5-7 pm come to the opening for The Art of Everyday Objects at Wired Gallery curated by the fantabulous Erin von Holdt-Gilbert!

All of the QUEERBOOK COMMITTEE coloring books will be in the show, as well as some handmade journals, and the art I just finished making in Nova Scotia last week.

I’ll be joined by: Danielle Bliss, Undine Brod, PK Brown, Aditi Chang, Rachel Dubiki, Josh Finn, Zoya Geacintov, Jonathan Gilbert, Katie Grove, Cindy Hoose, Estyn Hulbert, Amy Lahoff, Lisa Layman, Jenny Lee Fowler, Paul Lowe, Cheyenne Mallo, Ruth Mckinney Burket, Cheryl Pagano, Cal Patch, Mor Pipman, Jasmine Redfern, Emily Ritz, Lora Shelley, Victoria van der Laan, Jen Woodin, and Jenny Younge.

The Art of Everyday Objects will be up from May 25-June 23 at the Hudson Valley Wired Gallery, 11 Mohonk Road, High Falls, NY. Hope to see you at there!

https://www.facebook.com/events/676135662817514/

Coming This Fall from PM Press: Las niñas pueden ser reyes

Who hoo! So excited to announce that a new spanish adaptation of our favorite feminist coloring book Girls Are Not Chicks is coming this Fall from PM Press. Las niñas pueden ser reyes releases in October. Pre-orders will be available soon.

Till then find more details at PM Press. 

NEW PALTZ OPEN STUDIO TOUR

This weekend is the New Paltz Open Studio Tour!  It's going to be a fantastic group of about 30 artists and a rare peek into their studio lives.

This free tour gives you the chance to visit a number of Hudson Valley artists in their studios to see their process and work. I don't have a studio in New Paltz, but Leyla Cadabel has graciously invited me to her studio for the weekend.

Join all the participating artists for a
KICKOFF OPENING PARTY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
6-8 PM
UNISON ARTS CENTER
68 MOUNTAIN REST ROAD
NEW PALTZ, NY 12561

I WILL NOT BE IN MY HOME STUDIO

MY LOCATION:
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 29 & 30
10 AM - 5 PM
LEYLA CADABEL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO
437 NEW PALTZ ROAD
HIGHLAND, NY 12528

RSVP on Facebook or check the website.

You can continue to support my work by buying books and art through my etsy site. Ask your local bookstore if they would carry my coloring books. Every little bit you spread the word really does make a difference.

JEN DOLL IN CONVERSATION WITH JACINTA BUNNELL: WOODSTOCK, NY

SEPTEMBER 22
2:00 PM
THE GOLDEN NOTEBOOK
29 TINKER STREET
WOODSTOCK, NY

I will be interviewing Jen Doll as if we have our very own talk show for just one special September day. We will chat about her fantastic new young adult novel featuring a trio of teens who work at a store in Alabama that sells the contents of lost airport baggage—based on a real store! Who knew?! I want to go there! Together they find that, through friendship, they can unpack some of their own emotional baggage and move on into the future. It’s thoughtful, funny, feminist, and just plain good.

Jen Doll has written for The Atlantic, Elle, Esquire, Glamour, GQ, New York Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Vice, The Village Voice, The Week, and many other publications.

RSVP on Facebook.

UPCOMING EVENTS

dear readers and friends…

There are a couple opportunities this month to gather for art viewing and trouble making. I hope to see you somewhere. 

Thank you so so much to everyone who came to the book launch for Girls Will Be Boys Will be Girls Will Be... I felt held and embraced, uplifted and cared for. You cheered and bought books. You colored such beautiful pictures. You chopped carrots and decorated the walls. You loaded and unloaded the car...in the rain. You fiercely supported children in showing up as their authentic selves. You surprised me by driving two hours. You donated art so we could raise money for the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center, a community institution where so many people find solace, safety, hope and laughter. You sold and bought raffle tickets. You discovered a wooden hat display in a dark closet so that a college professor who didn't have his glasses on could bid on a hat he didn't even know had boobs embroidered on it! You recycled your cups. You sold books for me. You helped me remember how to sign books. It all went by very fast. Thank you kindly for your support, near and far.

XO.
Jacinta

NYC ANARCHIST

BOOK FAIR

THIS SATURDAY

SATURDAY, JUNE 9
11 AM - 6 PM
JUDSON MEMORIAL CHURCH
239 THOMPSON STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10012

I am super excited to sell books at this book fair at the historic Judson Memorial Church, which has allowed people with housing insecurity to sleep on its pews, taken leadership around sanctuary for immigrants, provided medical resources for people living with HIV, provided abortion counseling, and so much more. You gotta love a church who proudly proclaims, "We believe that artists have the potential to serve as our modern-day prophets. They show us where we've been, who we are, and what we can become."

ARTIST RECEPTION

AND BRUNCH

SATURDAY, JUNE 16
12 -2 PM
BRADBURY-SULLIVAN LGBT CENTER
522 WEST MAPLE STREET
ALLENTOWN, PA
The Fine Art Galleries at Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center are hosting an exhibit of art from the new Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be...Coloring Book. The galleries will display enlarged prints from the book June 11-July 13 and invite the community to color them throughout the exhibit. Join us June 16 for a free community coloring party, brunch and artist reception. At this event, copies of the book and 8"x10" prints will be available for purchase.

Many years ago, I met Adrian Shanker at the inspiring National Conference on Gender for youth activists in Washington, DC. More than a decade later, he is now the Director of the LGBT Center in Allentown, PA and reached out to ask me if the center could host a show featuring the new book. I am delighted to attend this event with one of the illustrators who contributed to the book, Julie Novak. If you are anywhere near Allentown, please stop by.

RSVP on FACEBOOK.

BOOK PARTY

NEXT SUNDAY!
IT'S A PARTY!
I HAVE SNACKS!

GIRLS WILL BE BOYS WILL BE GIRLS WILL BE...COLORING BOOK

BOOK RELEASE PARTY

SUNDAY, MAY 6
5-7 PM

HUDSON VALLEY LGBTQ CENTER

300 WALL STREET
KINGSTON, NY

MUSICAL PERFORMANCES BY:
RHYS ELLIS
GRACIELA REYES-BONDAR
SAMIHA GOLDEN

INVITE FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK.

MEET THE PERFORMERS:

Graciela Reyes-Bondar lives with her two mamas and two dogs. She is an award winning gymnast and cheerleader. She aspires to be a singer and veterinarian. She has recorded two songs in a professional studio.

Rhys Ellis is 10 years old and has been making music since before they could walk or talk. Rhys identifies as gender fabulous and loves Jacinta's coloring books.

Samiha Golden loves singing, making DIY videos, and performing.

BRAND NEW BOOK! This updated edition contains new illustrations and questions for contemplation. It features illustrations from the original by Giselle Potter, Michael Wilcock, Julie Novak, Nicole Georges, Kristine Virsis, Shane Ballard, and more. I sought out fresh illustrators (Simi Stone, Nicole Rodrigues, and Jac Dellaria) to bring new concepts to light. I truly love how it turned out, having all these collaborators on my team, infusing the book with their ingenuity and compassion for children.

Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book is a celebration of gender. In this book, you will meet girls who build drum sets and fix bikes; boys who bake and knit; and all manner of children along the gender spectrum. This book is for all the heroic handsome beauties of the world. The future is gender fabulous.

GIRLS WILL BE BOYS WILL BE GIRLS WILL BE... COLORING BOOK

PURCHASE BOOKS HERE

BRAND NEW BOOK!

It’s been sixteen years since I first self-published Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book with Irit Reinheimer. I never planned this to be my life’s work. But I suppose it was spelled out for me. I wore leisure suits and retyped other people’s books on my small plastic typewriter for fun.

In 2001, all Irit and I had to help us with the distribution of our first book was an email address and a post office box. We printed 50 copies of the book at local print shops and quickly sold out. We reprinted and reprinted and reprinted, and before we could blink, had sold 5,000 copies totally on our own, without a publisher or even a website.

This DIY coloring book distribution enterprise quickly outgrew both my living room and my patience. We eventually sought out a publisher and the book found a unique audience with people seeking something other than the world of Barbie, Ken and Disney. But that publisher let the book fade into obscurity. So Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be… has been out of print and hard to find for a decade.

I must admit, I had kind of given up on it myself. But PM Press/Reach & Teach, who had taken a chance on me and my ideas for so many years, began kindly nudging us to bring this book back to life, asking nicely about twice a year, "is it time?"

Over the years, people would ask me, “Do you actually think children are ready for these concepts?” and I would want to take it all back, as if I had never said any of this out loud. They would say, “This is weird, I don't know anyone who would want this” and I would wonder why I dared to make such strange books in the first place that seemed to offend so many people. But over and over again I met children who got it, parents who championed my books, adults who saw a younger version of themselves finally validated in the pages, teachers who would tell me about specific students lifted out of isolation by this work. I met activists who photocopied pages for protests and folks who made quilt squares with the images. There were people connecting with the work with joy. This enthusiasm is what I called upon when creating the new version of Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be...

I look around and am truly amazed at the people talking about gender, intersectional feminism, and gender fluidity that never were before. These conversations are happening in line at the grocery store, in schools, and on the 6 o'clock news. I feel the presence of a larger community around me and it gives me hope.

Irit stepped aside from the revision of this book to work on seventeen other phenomenal projects. When I had a doubtful moment about what to do with the rewrite, I would ask myself WWID (What Would Irit Do?) and always find the answer.

This updated edition contains new illustrations and questions for contemplation. It features illustrations from the original by Giselle Potter, Michael Wilcock, Julie Novak, Nicole Georges, Kristine Virsis, Shane Ballard, and more. I sought out fresh illustrators (Simi Stone, Nicole Rodrigues, and Jac Dellaria) to bring new concepts to light. I truly love how it turned out, having all these collaborators on my team, infusing the book with their ingenuity and compassion for children. One moment in time has led to over a decade of publishing coloring books about gender creativity, the dream job I never knew existed.

Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls Will Be…Coloring Book is a celebration of gender. In this book, you will meet girls who build drum sets and fix bikes; boys who bake and knit; and all manner of children along the gender spectrum. This book is for all the heroic handsome beauties of the world. The future is gender fabulous.

REVIEWS
​”My family has loved all of Jacinta's​ coloring books, and this one is no exception. The pictures are all different: inspirational, fun, fantastic, touching, campy, angry, and educational. And they remind us that the world is our oyster and we're whatever kinds of pearls we can dream into possibility. Or maybe we're not pearls at all.​"  --Catherine Newman, Real Simple columnist & author of Catastrophic Happiness

"If I had had this coloring book when I was little, I think things would have been a little easier for me, and when you're little a little easier is a lot." --Lynda Barry, author of Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies, Naked Ladies Coloring Book

NYC FEMINIST ZINE FEST

MEET ME AT THE NYC FEMINIST ZINE FEST on SUNDAY!

This is going to be my favorite day!

Zines are places you hear voices you don’t often hear in books. Zines are where many of us first read and wrote about radical politics. Zine writers have pushed our culture forward and are part of the reason you are finally hearing about sexual assault, racism, classism, and trans issues in the mainstream media right now. The bubbling, brilliant lives and ideas of the underground always push the soil up and bring necessary change. Join me at one of the most thoughtful, amazing events featuring important voices in DIY publishing. Check out the super rad tablers.