A KIDS BOOK ABOUT GENDER

This short educational book is an introduction to gender for elementary-age kids.

On minimalist white pages with cheerful blocks of color that often turn out to be difficult-to-read words, the author invites readers to ponder the meaning of gender. The author shares their identity as a nonbinary trans person but does not pressure readers to identify their own. As part of a larger study of gender, this book would be a useful conversation starter, but it is neither specific nor clear enough to be an introductory text. Much of the vocabulary introduced is likely unfamiliar, and concepts are presented so broadly as to become meaningless, which raises the question of whether the book is really about gender. Certainly oversimplification does a disservice to children, but the author seems to be unable to produce definitions that support their points. For example, they imply that nothing is just for boys or girls, then go on to explain their nonbinary identity in terms of their gendered interests. The building blocks of a helpful text are here, but they are precariously stacked. The most valuable parts of the book are the advice allowing children space to be unsure about gender and to experiment as well as the acknowledgement that not everyone may understand your gender but that being yourself is worth it.

Readers might finish this book more confused than when they began.