This colorful board book follows author/illustrator Katy Tanis’s Love in the Wild, and similarly showcases a range of creatures from the natural world who demonstrate different types of relationships, affection, and expression.
One page shows two clownfish (think Nemo from Finding Nemo), calling one, “the prince who claims the queen within.” The meaning might elude some readers, but a “Field Guide” (PDF) on the publisher’s website explains that “All clownfish are born male and live in female-led colonies. When the female dies, the second-in-line male changes sex and becomes the new leader of the colony.”
Other types of diversity are even less evident on the pages. Reading this book alone, readers would not know that male seahorses keep eggs in their stomach pouch until they hatch, or that all nudibranchs are both male and female—but again, the “Field Guide” explains more, and adults can incorporate the information as desired, underscoring the gender diversity of the natural world. Pedagogy aside, it’s still a delightful volume whose rhymes and colors should capture young readers’ attention—and for those transgender parents who call themselves “seahorses” (and their children), the rainbow-hued ones on the cover and inside may feel affirming, even if they are not specifically explained in the book.
