The Pronoun Book

January 31, 2022
eaturing plentiful speech bubbles, this spare board book enforces the message that gender identity and pronouns cannot be derived from appearance. The first two spreads make the premise clear: “How do you know what someone wants to be called?” a light brown–skinned child queries. “Ask,” Ayala-Kronos writes, as the child runs toward a variously inclusive crowd, members of whom relay their pronouns via subsequent spreads (on one page, for example, six people indicate themselves, each proclaiming, “They”). Portraying a cast of varying ability, age, hair color, hairstyle, religion, skin tone, and size, Tirado’s boldly colored, smoothly outlined digital art, set against vibrant monochrome backgrounds, celebrates myriad ways people express gender across intersections. A concluding vision of unity (“Us!”) involves a park party where everyone wears pronoun badges; while the neopronouns that many partygoers proudly sport aren’t discussed, this straightforward handling capably introduces the youngest readers to pronouns and gender identity. Ages up to 3.

June 17, 2022

PreS-K-A first look at a topic to help even young children navigate social relationships, this board book tackles the topic of confusion around what pronouns people should use. "How do you know what someone wants to be called? Ask." With a diverse cast, spreads show a pronoun on the left, and people identifying as that particular pronoun on the right. A few of the illustrations are of pronouns that aren't described, such as, "xe, ze, co." This is a great starting point for a topic that is getting a lot of notice. VERDICT A simple book with a simple message. A great purchase for libraries.-Brooke Newberry

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