This story is about a trans girl named Bailey who dreams of wearing beautiful and extravagant dresses each night, but upon telling her family about her dreams, she is met with transphobic comments from her family members. The last is The Family Book by Todd Parr, which is not entirely about LGBT families but includes them in the wide array of families represented in the book. Sammy and Friends would stand out against its competition because it would be more than just a single book. Sammy and Friends would be an entire series; starting with How Sammy Came Out. The LGBT community has too many concepts and information to be covered in just one book. The characters can be fleshed about beyond just being LGBT because LGBT people are more than just their orientation or identity. They have interests, talents, dreams, ambitions, and ways of expression like everyone else. The ambiguous species of Sammy and their friends allow them to be relatable to anyone, regardless of their race or skin color. Sammy and Friends would place emphasis on the universal aspect of the LGBT community that no matter how someone looks, acts, dresses, believes or what culture they come from, they are all welcomed into the LGBT community and play an important part in the diversity within the community. Another current problem Sammy and Friends tries to address is that children are sometimes “sheltered” away from the idea of being LGBT. Some children come from homophobic households, while some have low self esteem and are afraid to come out because they fear their peers will bully them. Unfortunately, despite the progress made, many LGBT children are still bullied by other children or treated poorly by their parents. Sammy is very lucky to have supportive family and friends, though they spend the book afraid of that judgment and afraid to come out. Representation in children’s media has vastly improved in the past decade with successful cartoons such as Steven Universe and Owl House proving that children are smart enough to understand LGBT concepts, that the LGBT community is not inherently an adult topic, and that LGBT representation can help children be more comfortable expressing who they are. 15
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