Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall

• Plot Summary: Red has a bright red label, but he is, in fact, blue. His teacher tries to help him be red (let's draw strawberries!), his mother tries to help him be red by sending him out on a playdate with a yellow classmate (go draw a nice orange!), and the scissors try to help him be red by snipping his label so that he has room to breathe. But Red is miserable. He just can't be red, no matter how hard he tries! Finally, a brand-new friend offers a brand-new perspective, and Red discovers what readers have known all along. He's blue! This funny, heartwarming, colorful picture book about finding the courage to be true to your inner self can be read on multiple levels, and it offers something for everyone.

• Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Z3GunXOz4

• This is a book that uses color as an allegory for gender, but never explicitly says so. Everyone tries to help Red crayon draw red things, but he just can’t, because he’s blue. One day, a new friend asks him to draw a blue ocean and suddenly everyone accepts that Red is actually Blue. This is super cute, but the offer of instantaneous acceptance may not be a whole description of a trans story.