You Need to Chill!: A Trans Pride and Acceptance Children’s Book by Juno Dawson
Here’s a warm-hearted, fun-filled, wacky and read-aloud story about a trans child and her sister that will delight families looking for loving tales of inclusivity and acceptance.
Juno Dawson ― the bestselling author known for her groundbreaking YA title This Book is Gay ― is back with her picture book debut, You Need to Chill! (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) on sale May 2, 2023 and geared for ages 4 to 8.
In You Need to Chill!, no one can find Bill. Is he lost in the park? Has he been eaten by a shark? Is he on vacation in Barbados or Brazil? No!
As Bill’s sister shares, “The truth is that my brother Bill is now my sister Lily … She’s still clever and funny and kind and cool. She’s one in a mil, and if people have a problem, we shout YOU NEED TO CHILL!”
“The discourse around trans children was getting poisonous and weaponized politically,” said Juno, remembering when she first decided to write the book. “And it felt like with a lot of these arguments, the best response is to chill! Meet a trans person!”
Here’s why we all “need to chill” now:
- Only 0.5% of children’s and YA books had a trans protagonist in 2019, according to The Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
- Of the 1,648 books tracked in Pen America’s banned book index, 674 titles (41%) explicitly address LGBTQIA+ themes/feature primary or secondary LGBTQIA+ characters. This includes the 145 titles ― 9% ― that include transgender content.
- According to the Washington Post, “more legislation has been filed to restrict the lives of trans people so far in 2022 than at any other point in the nation’s history, with trans youth being the most frequent target of lawmakers.” In 2022 alone, a whopping 155 new bills have been filed.
Juno’s ultimate hope for You Need to Chill! is that it finds its way to the kids who need it, including trans children and allies. “I think in the next ten years, there won’t be many classrooms in America where there isn’t a gender-diverse child, and how do you manage that? You manage it like the child in the book does: with kindness and humor and inclusion and with playfulness.”
Juno Dawson is the international bestselling author of fiction and nonfiction for young adults. She is a columnist for Attitude magazine and a key LGBTQ+ activist with the charity Stonewall. A former teacher specializing in behavior studies, Juno now writes full time and lives in Brighton, England.
