My Maddy

“Most mommies are girls. Most daddies are boys. But lots of parents are neither a boy nor a girl. Like my Maddy.” Pitman’s story centers a child with a nonbinary parent, or “Maddy” (a hybrid of mommy and daddy “used in some families to describe a parent who is transgender or gender diverse,” per an end note). Tobacco’s crisp, richly detailed illustrations depict a parent and child moving through their days with warmth and love, snuggling and reading. Pitman’s affirming text highlights the joy of in-between things—hazel eyes, sporks, sunrises, motorcycles (“It’s not a car or a bicycle. It’s kind of both, and it’s something all its own”) —gently illuminating the idea that people, too, can exist beyond categorization. An extensive note from a psychologist is aimed at parents transitioning or living an affirmed gender. Ages 4–8. (May)