BEING JAZZ
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Novel Rationale: Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings (Published by Crown Books for Young Readers, 2016)
Summary: This non fiction book is an authentic and honest book about inspirational teen Jazz Jennings. Born male, but identifying as a girl at a young age, Jazz and her family faced the challanges of being transgender. Her story is a real introduction to transgender teens and offers insight that can only come from true life experience. It debunks many misconceptions about being transgender.
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Themes:
Non Fiction
Transgender
Gender
Identity
Connection to the Curriculum: This is a good book if your curriculum is looking to add a non fiction selection. One of the most successful ways for students to engage with a text is to read true accounts of people's lives. Sharing real experiences connects them with the story and helps them to apply their own experiences to the author's. This would be a good way to have a discussion about the diffrences between fiction and non fiction and how the character's lives seem realistic or not compared to true stories.
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A Note on the Text: (The best way to evaluate and understand a novel is to personally read the book in its entirety)
Another option would be to pair this book with the children's book I Am Jazz and have a discussion about the difference in genres and teen experiences vs. children's.
