A Song for Nolan is an upcoming picture book dedicated to positive representation of LGBTQ families. Published by Little Bee Books, an independent publisher specializing in progressive and inclusive children’s literature, and in partnership with GLAAD, A Song for Nolan is a labor of love aimed at empowering LGBTQ children.
GLAAD Communications Intern Stephanie Hu (she/her) interviewed the book’s author Rushie Ellenwood (she/they), to talk about A Song for Nolan’s upcoming release, the process of creating the book and working with illustrator Sally Chen (they/she/he), and what they hope this book will bring for queer and gender-expansive youth.
(Please note this interview has been condensed for clarity.)
SH: What inspired you to write A Song for Nolan?
RE: A Song from Nolan actually came from one of my own experiences as a kid showing up to my sixth grade roller skating party in a Tux and being misgendered. The experience ended in tears in the bathroom because it was my first heartbreak of realizing, “Oh, this thing of being a queer person and also a gender expansive person is gonna be an interesting journey for me.” As a mom myself, I feel like it’s really important to build spaces where kids can see themselves and feel celebrated. My hope with this book is that gender expansive kids feel seen and that their friends become allies. I think if all of us could build bigger empathy, we would change the world.
SH: I love the dynamic between Nolan, the main character, and Chloe, Nolan’s friend who is also an ally. How did you build up the characters in the book?
RE: I know that as a kid, I would not have survived my own experience without my own friends, frankly. Chloe is this incredible character that came out of knowing the importance of building your community and having really strong allies around you. I had really great friendships that nurtured me along the way and I wanted that to be reflected in A Song for Nolan.
SH: Can you tell me a little bit more about the illustration process with Sally Chen?
RE: I really believe that picture books are driven by art. Sally just did such a beautiful job of really making Nolan’s world this vibrant and inclusive place. It’s really easy to feel like you’re an outsider when you’re queer or part of any marginalized group and Sally just did such an incredible job of showing that everybody belongs here and bringing that vision to life.
SH: Do you have any advice for educators or parents on how to create more inclusive environments for children?
RE: We tend to shy away from having uncomfortable conversations. There’s so many resources now available for educators and parents, whether it’s hosting a book club, looking at organizations like Gender Spectrum, or having the conversations with other educators and parents. We get to decide what our values are and show up for kids. My kids now know so much more about what queer looks like and what allyship looks like — and that’s from us having had these conversations at a young age and having had them see me show up for my friends needing support. Lastly, it’s okay to make mistakes. If we can approach conversations from a place of “I don’t know everything and I’m going to learn,” then we can model that as an approach for our kids.
According to the Trevor Project, among transgender, nonbinary, and gender questioning youth, “the five most frequently cited supportive actions taken by parents or caregivers were: 1) being welcoming and kind to youths’ LGBTQ friends or partner(s) (69%), 2) talking with youth respectfully about their LGBTQ identity (57%), 3) supporting youths’ gender expression (51%), 4) using youths’ name and pronouns correctly (40%), and 5) educating themselves about LGBTQ people and issues (40%).” Being supportive has immense positive effects for transgender, nonbinary, and gender questioning youth, including lower suicide risk. Supportive actions were “significantly associated with lower odds of a suicide attempt in the past year, ranging from 42% to 16% lower odds.”
A Song for Nolan will be released on June 15th, 2024. Pre-order from Barnes & Nobles now.