Initially, he acts out to get his busy family to pay attention, before he confides something else he knows to his mother – that he didn't feel like a boy but he is a boy.Īll in all, Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope is a triumphant declaration of love and identity. The narrative follows Penelope, who knows that he's a ninja, and knows what he likes. The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Barlow's illustrations, created digitally with handmade watercolor textures, emphasize the Black family's expressions and movement, allowing young readers to take in the family's emotions. Told in the first-person, the narrative follows Penelope, who knew that he was a boy, despite the world’s perception. Patterson's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. It a Black transgender boy shares his identity and competes in a karate tournament with the encouragement of his family in this picture-book biography. Read on to see what Jodie has to say about self-discovery, family, and experience as truth.Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope is a children's picture book written by Jodie Patterson and illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow. We knew that Born Ready would totally be on the radar for our NYC parents, so we caught up with Jodie Patterson to dive deeper into what this book is all about. And if we do that - if we have the “beyond representation” mindset - we (kids and parents alike) just might discover what it means to love, learn from, and accept the people in our lives who are different from us. Instead, let’s look at how and why these communities are being represented. Yes, Born Ready is the trans, queer, and Black representation that we need, but let’s think beyond representation. We got the scoop on this must-read book, beautifully illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, that puts gender identity and gender fluidity in conversation with young readers and their parents. And in her debut children’s book, Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope, Jodie Patterson reminds us how to be there for our kids when they do. They teach us something new, something that opens up our perspective and redefines the way we relate to others. But every now and then, our kids surprise us. We learn how to talk to our kids about the world around us, we learn how to prioritize time for ourselves, we learn how to raise our little ones amidst a growing digital landscape (from TikTok to the new Instagram for kids and everything in between).

Here at New York Family, we know that parenting is all about learning. Photo: Yumi Matsuo Jodie Patterson Social Activist Children’s Book - Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope

Born Ready by Jodie Patterson