Meet Alex: A Nonbinary Kid at the Aquarium
In the nonbinary picture book Their Name Is Alex by Paloma O’Toole, a class field trip to an aquarium becomes a turning point in one child’s self-understanding. Alex, who sometimes feels different from other people, loves that the fish are all unique. When the teacher asks which sea creature each child would like to be, classmates choose jellyfish and octopuses for reasons that quietly bend gender stereotypes: jellyfish are graceful dancers and strong; octopuses are clever and curious. Alex doesn’t see themself in any of these animals—until discovering the yellow coral goby, a fish that can switch from female to male and back again. The teacher explains that binaries in nature aren’t always fixed, giving Alex language for their own gender fluidity. Back in class, Alex shares that they sometimes feel like a boy, sometimes a girl, and sometimes neither—and their peers respond with curiosity and easy acceptance rather than conflict.
Natural Diversity, Neurodiversity, and Disability in the Forest
Alongside Their Name Is Alex, another recent neurodiversity picture book, Together, a Forest: Drawing Connections Between Nature’s Diversity and Our Own, uses a nature field trip to connect children’s differences with the wider living world. The story gathers kids with a variety of personalities, sensory needs, and visible disabilities and invites them to notice how no two trees, animals, or habitats are exactly alike. A nonbinary child named Alex also appears here, woven into the group rather than singled out as a lesson. The book’s central idea is simple but powerful: forests thrive because they hold many species, shapes, and ways of growing, just as communities thrive when they include many kinds of minds and bodies. By placing disability and neurodivergence alongside gender diversity within this broader ecological metaphor, the book frames all these traits as ordinary parts of life—no more exotic than moss on a rock or a crooked branch.
Why Nature Is the Perfect Setting for Inclusive Kids’ Stories
Children nature books have long been a gentle way to talk about big ideas, and these LGBTQ kids stories show why. Nature offers endless, concrete examples of difference that even very young readers can grasp: fish that change sex, animals with many limbs, plants that grow in surprising directions. When a teacher in Their Name Is Alex points to the yellow coral goby’s ability to switch between female and male, it becomes a developmentally appropriate bridge to explain that not everything fits into simple either/or boxes. Similarly, stories set in forests and oceans can explore themes of identity and belonging without heavy-handed lectures—kids simply see that every creature has a place. For nonbinary and neurodivergent children, that message can feel quietly radical. For their peers, it normalizes diversity as just another fact of the world, like tides or seasons, rather than something to be debated or feared.
From Token Characters to Truly Inclusive Kids’ Books
These titles reflect a slow but meaningful shift in inclusive kids books: nonbinary and disabled characters moving from the margins to the center. In Their Name Is Alex, the story belongs to Alex; the plot turns on their curiosity and courage, not on adult reactions to their identity. The aquarium trip is a typical school experience, which helps normalize gender diversity within an ordinary day. Together, a Forest takes a similar approach with disability and neurodiversity, embedding them in a wider celebration of natural diversity rather than treating difference as a problem to be solved. This stands in contrast to older patterns where LGBTQ or disabled characters appeared only as side notes or teaching tools. While the pool of nonbinary picture books and neurodiversity stories remains limited, books like these signal where children’s publishing is headed: toward stories where every child gets to be the main character.
How Caregivers and Educators Can Use These Stories
To use these books well, adults don’t need complicated scripts. Start by reading them as you would any other children’s book: enjoy the language, linger on the art, and ask open questions like “Which animal would you pick?” or “Who did you relate to?” If a child notices Alex’s pronouns or the goby’s ability to change, follow their lead: “Some people feel like boys, some like girls, and some feel in-between or different. All are okay.” Emphasize kindness and respect as the baseline response to any identity. For neurodiversity and disability, connect story details to real-life values: “Everyone’s brain and body work in their own way, just like in the forest. How can we help everyone feel included?” Keeping the focus on empathy and everyday friendship ensures that the message lands clearly, even for very young readers.
