The Spanish edition of Being You: A First Conversation About Gender. Review is of the English edition.
A board book offering a simple but thoughtful overview of gender identity and expression as well as gender stereotypes and myths. Each spread offers some bit of explanation about gender plus some prompting questions for readers to consider, such as “What are some genders you know about?” or “What do you wonder about yourself? What do you know?”
“Different bodies have different parts,” we learn. Sometimes grown-ups will call a baby a “girl” or a “boy” based on whether the baby’s body has a vagina or a penis (which are not depicted in the illustrations), but “Some babies grow into a different gender” than that one—and in fact, “There are lots of different genders that people grow into.” Some people feel like neither a girl or a boy; some feel like both. The authors also reassure readers that it’s okay to wonder about your gender and to have that answer change.
They explain, too, how different pronouns may feel right (or not) to different people, and how people may also express themselves through clothes, hairstyles, toys, and more. And unlike many books about gender identity, this one also tackles gender stereotypes, noting that people have said many untrue things about gender and that “There are lots of unfair rules that give boys more power.” The authors quickly note that many adults and kids are now speaking up to change these rules and are called “feminists.” They ask readers to reflect on times when they have encountered unfair rules about gender and to think about ways they can take action. Rather than preaching, they’re engaging.
Two end spreads offer further information and ideas for grown-ups. Passchier’s bright illustrations augment the text by showing children and adults of various genders and other dimensions of diversity, playing and interacting. (And if you think you’ve seen their illustrations before in even more LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books, you’d be right.) While the content seems advanced for a board book (part of a dubious industry trend with board books), the interactive nature of the text, encouraging readers to think about the topics for themselves, makes this an excellent “first book” for pre-K and up.
