A tool for talking about gender identity with young children.

I am in love with this story by Jessica Walton. I recommend it to anyone with a young child. Or anyone who needs to give their inner child a new narrative about having permission to be yourself.

The book tells of the friendship between Errol and his teddy bear. They do many fun things together but Errol notices that Thomas seems sad. His bear shares with Errol that they wish their name was Tilly, not Thomas. Errol affirms that what really matters is that they are friends and thanks them for sharing their feelings.

When they run into another friend while out playing, Errol introduces Tilly like a true ally. The story ends with Errol and Tilly doing all the things they did at the beginning of the book. This approach to telling a coming out story strikes a nice balance between acknowledging that transitioning changes so much and yet their friendship is much the same.

My son was captivated by the illustrations. After reading it the first time, he took the book from me, sat down and started looking intently at each page. He then declared in reference to Tilly’s former bow tie, “Yeah, she wants her bow on her head!”

Introducing Teddy: A gentle story about gender and friendship