Happy Tuesday, kidlit friends! And happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! Are you doing anything special to celebrate Pride? I plan to attend Nashville’s Pride event with friends and read lots of queer books, of course. I just finished The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson, a queer, Jewish historical fantasy, and I’m halfway through with Uranians by Theodore McCombs, a collection of queer speculative short stories. While unrelated to children’s books, both are excellent! This week I review four children’s books about gender identity plus two sweet new picture books. I review LGBTQIA+ children’s books in several other places too, if you’re looking for more.
Before I get to those reviews, are you looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. In one such newsletter, Vanessa breaks down Mexican history via Like Water for Chocolate. It’s been ages since I read that one, but I remember enjoying it! Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.
Bookish Goods
Libraries Are for Everyone Pin by GoodGoodCat
I need this pin for the library tote I won this week for completing summer reading challenges with my local library! $11
New Releases
I Have Seven Dogs by Molly Horan, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (picture book)
Zoe loves dogs, but her small apartment — which she also loves — isn’t dog-friendly. Instead, she visits her neighbor’s and friend’s dogs, but she’s still sad she can’t have a dog of her own. For her birthday party, she comes up with a clever idea to make the day perfect. She invites all her friends, family, AND their dogs to come to her party at a park. She can have the dog-filled day of her dreams now! This is a really heartwarming story for any dog-lover. I especially like that it shows a child living in an apartment.
Bear with me by KERASCOËT (picture book)
This adorable, nearly wordless picture book is the perfect read for kids going to preschool or kindergarten for the first time. A series of pages shows the special relationship a little girl has with her bear lovey, with the dialogue “Bear with me” occurring off and on throughout. But now it’s time for school. She tries to pack Bear in her backpack, but her mother tells her (wordlessly) that Bear is not allowed to go. At school, she finds a way to bring Bear with her, even though Bear is still at home.
In my June monthly roundup of new children’s book releases for Book Riot, I also review the middle grade novels Code Red by Joy McCullough and Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi. For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter!
Riot Recommendations
These four children’s books are great ways to start conversations about gender identity with kids, or adults!
The Pronoun Book by Chris Ayala-Kronos, illustrated by Melita Tirado (board book)
In bold graphics great for little eyes, this accessible board book introduces pronouns, including neo pronouns. With simple, direct language, it encourages readers to ask for people’s pronouns. This is an excellent way to introduce pronouns to toddlers in those early stages of language development.
It Feels Good to Be Yourself by Theresa Thorn, illustrated by Noah Grigni (picture book)
This is the first book I bought my daughter to discuss gender identity, and we still talk about and reread it regularly. Thorn addresses the reader in her straightforward explanation that some people are boys, some girls, and others are somewhere in between. She includes nonbinary and trans kids, as well as a range of racial and ability diversity.
Pink, Blue, and You! by Elise Gravel & Mykaell Blais (picture book)
While the first two books in this list discuss gender identity in a more basic, introductory sense, this one specifically unpacks gender stereotypes. Can girls play with trucks? Of course. Can boys play with dolls? Also of course. Additionally, it discusses pronouns and the difference between sex and gender. This is a great picture book for kids who have experienced gender stereotyping.
Gender Identity for Kids by Andy Passchier (chapter book)
I love that there’s now a basic introductory discussion of gender identity for chapter book readers. Accompanied by kid-friendly illustrations, Passchier takes readers on a chapter-by-chapter rundown on gender identity, including discussions of gender expression, finding support, and biology. It includes questions at the end of each chapter for readers to think about, as well as an accessible summary of the chapter.
This week has been a rough one. Last month I was laid off from BuzzFeed, and last week I was laid off from my primary job, as was my spouse. This week I have been furiously applying to anything and everything I qualify for, but I also took a break to take my daughter to the library and loved watching her read the board books silently to herself. I can’t believe she can read in her head now!
If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.
Until next Tuesday!
Margaret Kingsbury