Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope
Jodie Patterson
About this book
Jodie Patterson, activist and Chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Board, shares her transgender son's experience in this important picture book about identity and acceptance. Penelope knows that he's a boy. (And a ninja.) The problem is getting everyone else to realize it. In this exuberant companion to Jodie Patterson's adult memoir, The Bold World, Patterson shares her son Penelope's frustrations and triumphs on his journey to share himself with the world. Penelope's experiences show children that it always makes you stronger when you are true to yourself and who you really are.
Why it was banned
Challenged in Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland, as part of the LGBTQ-inclusive elementary storybook curriculum disputed in Mahmoud v. Taylor. Parents objected on religious grounds to classroom use without advance notice or opt-out rights.
Censorship history
United States school ban context: Born Ready: The True Story of a Boy Named Penelope became part of Mahmoud v. Taylor, the 2025 U.S. Supreme Court case over Montgomery County Public Schools' use of LGBTQ-inclusive storybooks in elementary language-arts instruction. The dispute did not begin as a traditional library removal, but as a fight over classroom access, parental notice, and religious opt-outs. In June 2025, the Supreme Court sided with parents seeking opt-out rights, turning this children's picture book into part of a national legal precedent over LGBTQ representation in public elementary education.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | LGBTQ+ |