This affirming and all-gender-inclusive guide for young children combines an accurate but age-appropriate look at bodies with an explanation of various genders, gender expressions, pronouns, and more.
The book begins by asserting that every body “has its own unique mix of colors, shapes, parts, abilities, identities, and expressions.” After a brief look at “Some parts your rainbow body might have,” like arms, legs, and head (with an image of a child with prosthetic making clear that not all bodies have all of these parts), it moves on to explain that there are also “private parts” that stay covered in public. (My one small criticism here is that the line, “The private parts covered by underwear are called ‘genitals,'” might lead some children to think that their buttocks/anus are also categorized as genitals—but that’s easily clarified by an adult.)
Before explaining more about genitals, though, the book first says that a doctor or midwife may have guessed your gender when you were born, based on your private parts—but they may or may not have guessed right, since “Private parts do not tell us what our gender is. Our hearts tell us.” And gender, it says, “is a feeling you have about whether you are a girl or a boy, not a girl or a boy at all, both a girl and a boy, in-between girl and boy, or whatever feels right for you!” Thinking about how we show our gender to others, and which expression of this makes us happiest, can be a clue to our gender.
We then learn more about vulvas and penises and their various sub-parts and interior reproductive systems. The images and text are accurate, but simple enough that most young children should be able to understand. Notably, the nude child on the spread about vulvas reads as having a more masculine gender expression, and the nude child on the spread about penises reads as having a more feminine gender expression. That approach might be initially confusing for cisgender children who already have a conception of which genitals are typically associated with which gender, but will come as a welcome, inclusive approach for transgender children—and ultimately, too, it may teach cis children not to make assumptions of gender based on looks or genitalia. The text reminds us that kids with each type of private parts can be a girl, boy, “both, neither, somewhere in-between, or whatever feels right for them!”
Also notably, an entire spread is also dedicated to intersex bodies, when “inside private parts and outside private parts come in different combinations.” The book gives us a few examples, but notes that there are more types of intersex bodies than just these.
We move on to gender expression and different pronouns, with examples of kids sharing their pronouns and of how to refer to someone with different pronouns. We also learn that you should take care of your “rainbow body” with good food and hygiene, and that it’s okay to explore your own body, but to do so in private spaces. Your body belongs to you, the book reminds us, and other people’s bodies to them. (It might have been good to see a clearer statement that it’s not okay for anyone else to touch your body without your permission, but perhaps the subject of consent is best covered more fully separately; this book at least provides a launching point.) The book ends with an affirmation that every body is special and makes the world more beautiful and interesting.
Back matter includes a page for a child to write in information about their own gender identity and body. Author Caroline Carter, a doctor of psychology whose specialty is working with transgender and gender nonbinary children, also includes some additional notes for parents and other adults about the importance of discussing bodies and gender in age-appropriate ways, a glossary, and some suggested questions to start conversations.
The illustrations, by Matthias Ball, show children with a variety of racial/ethnic identities, physical abilities, and gender expressions.
For Comparison
This book complements the information presented in several other recommended books. Your Whole Body goes into more detail about parts other than genitals, but does not cover gender identity, expression, or pronouns. The Bare Naked Book mentions most major body parts, including genitalia, but doesn’t delve as deeply into function or into the sub-parts like Your Whole Body or (for genitalia) Every Body Is a Rainbow. Bodies Are Cool focuses on the joy of human variation, and doesn’t discuss or depict genitalia.
The Bare Naked Book and Bodies Are Cool show people of all ages, as they celebrate human physical diversity; Every Body Is a Rainbow and Your Whole Body uses only images of children, who may be more relatable for young readers, but of the two, only Every Body Is a Rainbow depicts children who are identifiably queer.
Finally, What Makes a Baby? focuses on the components (sperm, egg, womb) needed for reproduction, but does not discuss genitalia or bodies in general. None of these approaches is better or worse; no book for this age can cover everything. I recommend them all, as they may appeal to children of different interests or to the same children at different times. I’m thrilled that young children today can now choose from so many different, inclusive books about bodies.
For more books on bodies and gender for older children and tweens, see the Gender/bodies/sex-ed tag.
