I absolutely love literature for children, especially if it falls under the Queer umbrella, so I was thrilled to read about Princess Pete, a new picture book published in May 2026 for young children by Zoey Allen and Frenci Sanna. Zoey has written the text and Frenci has done the absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Both creators are themselves trans so their book is unsurprisingly glorious and full of joy.
Pete is a young child who likes all kinds of things, and who sometimes feels like a prince and sometimes like a princess.
They wear pink shorts, yellow tops, and blue wellies, but sometimes also wear green jumpers, flowery trousers, and butterfly sandals. They sometimes play with the boys and sometimes with the girls (and I was glad here to see that none of the activities stated are typically for only girls or boys). Sometimes Pete plays by themselves, imagining a world in which pegacorns exist! The illustration here is beautiful.
Pete knows that sometimes people are confused about whether they’re a boy or a girl, but it is clear in the illustration where the text says, ‘Sometimes I don’t know what to say’, that they refuse to be hemmed in or to give in to people’s expectations.
Pete just likes to be themself and that’s the message of the book.
The colour palette for the illustrations is understated and beautiful. There are lots of pale colours alongside vibrant blues, greens, and reds. I loved the diversity of the illustration of all of Pete’s friends, and the pegacorns are so beautiful that I really want them to be real.
Currently, there is a war on the queer community. The rise of Trumpism and Reform have meant that trans people are scared to go to the toilet in public, that Pride flags aren’t been flown on government buildings during Pride month, and that queer books are being banned or at least reduced in libraries all over.
Reading queer books certainly won’t turn kids queer, as the homophobes fear, but if they’re already one of us, they will find representation in books
This June, as the community feels the fear of things going backwards, I would like every LGBTQ+ ally to read at least one queer book. Read a few to your children!
Reading queer books certainly won’t turn them queer, as the homophobes fear, but if they’re already one of us, they will find representation in books. And that’s so important.
If you can see it, you can be it.
Maybe if you’re a straight, cis adult you don’t understand the community – but there are a million books that can help explain. Children need that too.
Representation truly matters. There is a 36-year-old paper by Rudine Sims Bishop that talks about how readers need mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Kids learn they aren’t alone and that their experiences and lives are valid through stories, but they also learn that other lives and ways of being are valid and important too.
Stories are one of the key ways we build empathy and learning about the experiences of different people is a key part of building empathy in kids – and surely we could all do with a bit more empathy for people different from us.
Kids already live with LGBTQ+ people in their lives, whether they’re aware of it or not. Not including that in books is erasing a world that already exists to prioritise one that will never be true.
Books help us to think about the radical possibility of a world where everyone is accepted and welcomed
Books also help us to think about the radical possibility of a world where everyone is accepted and welcomed. That may only exist in picture books but, every time we tell that story, we make it more possible. It’s not just shaping the lives and experiences of the individual child, but of their community, and of what they can hope and dream for in the future.
Picture books especially are often actively asking the questions of how we can make the world better and fairer. They are often explorations of everyday utopias that look at these though the eyes and feelings of a small child.
Imagine a utopia where no one cares about Princess Pete’s gender – they just care that that child is loved, cared for, and happy.
There are tons of Queer books for children and Young Adults now, but here’s a few picture books to look out for if Princess Pete has whetted your appetite – especially if you’re one of the staunch allies I mentioned:
- Confetti by Dean Atta and Alea Marley (and I also recommend Dean Atta’s novels told in verse for teen readers)
- Introducing Teddy by Dougal MacPherson and Jessica Walton, also starring a trans main character
- Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Corry
- Bathe the Cat by Alice B McGinty and David Roberts.