This book is part of the lauded A Kids Book About (AKBA) collection (one of Oprah’s Favorite Things 2020), which began with A Kids Book About Racism and now has books on subjects like belonging, feminism, gratitude, cancer, and other topics that can be challenging to discuss in ways that are accurate, substantial enough to be useful, and understandable by kids.
Like the rest of the AKBA collection, A Kids Book About Gender has no pictures, instead employing bright colors and a variety of fonts to make the words themselves the visual part of the story. The publisher explains, “Our books emphasize color, layout, and type to help kids apply the stories to their lives instead of only thinking of the characters in the book.” They also note, “This book is best read together, grownup and kid.”
As with the other AKBA books, this one reads more like a conversation with the author, Dale Mueller, who begins by saying, “OK, I know you just started reading this book, but I want you to stop and do something for me. Try to describe gender.” They affirm, “That was hard, huh? Gender can be complicated to talk about.” They then introduce themselves as someone who has a cat, likes cheese, and is also “a non-binary trans person. My pronouns are they/them/theirs.” The next pages explain what gender means to Mueller, how they were assigned one gender at birth, and how their conception of themselves changed as they grew. They talk about how it felt to find pronouns, the word “nonbinary,” and a new name that reflected their gender identity, and share some of the many different labels for gender identities and the many aspects of gender, from “a way for you to describe and express yourself,” to “How you feel in your body,” and more.
The combination of an authentic personal story and simple but not simplistic definitions make this work. Mueller reassures readers that it’s OK if they don’t quite understand, “But maybe, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Maybe you know how it feels when the words people use to talk about your gender don’t fit who you know you are.” They also tell readers that everyone explores their gender. This can be simple or hard, but “You’re not alone on this journey.”
An Outro reminds readers that this book is neither definitive nor comprehensive, but “it’s here to remind you that gender is something authentic to each of us as individuals.” In that, it feels like it succeeds admirably.
A list of additional resources at the end suggests four additional books for kids, three for adults, and three organizations—a short list of the many resources there really are, but all good places to start.
