Pura Belpré Honor Award winner Maya Gonzalez, who has written and gorgeously illustrated several other children’s books about gender, here looks at gender identity with an approach different from just about every other book on the topic.
We are all part of nature’s infinity, the book affirms, as it shows us images of 11 varied children dancing and playing joyously across the pages. Sometimes, however, people try to fit us into boxes, like the two boxes of “boy” and “girl.” The boxes can, however, make it hard to see the infinity to which we are connected. Sometimes, too, fitting into the box can mean shrinking our selves. Despite this, the book asserts—while also showing us through Gonzalez’s always-dazzling illustrations—each person can break out of the boxes to flow and grow in their best way, in tune with the infinity of nature.
Gender is specifically not defined in relation to assignments at birth. As Gonzalez points out in a Note to Adults at the end, the word “gender” is not even used in the book, except in the title. This was a deliberate move to go beyond human definitions and see bodies and gender “within the context of all nature.” This is a refreshing and original take, at least among children’s books, although it draws upon concepts Gonzalez herself has explored before, notably in The Gender Wheel.
Some readers (particularly those with a more literal bent) may still choose to seek further definitions about gender identity (and there are now numerous other books to help them), but I feel that Gonzalez’s holistic, interconnected approach sets a useful, broad foundation of understanding for whatever additional definitions we may find. By celebrating the variety of genders, bodies, and relationships as part of the expanse of nature, the book seems to be telling us, we can feel our connection to that greater whole and be more aware when individuals or social forces try to sever it.
Backmatter gives us more information about the identities of the children in the book, showing how their pronouns and their body assignments at birth go beyond boxes. We also see examples of birds, animals, and plants that exhibit variation in gender and bodies beyond the ways most of us have been taught. A page of “Finding Your Way” guides readers to first learn about nature and the patterns of body, gender, and relationship found there; to see how binary gender boxes limit our understanding of the world and our selves; and then to expand out of those boxes. One page explains more about the Gender Wheel, while a final Note to Adults offers more details and tips on applying the principles in the book.
Also available in a coloring book version, with the same text, Gonzalez’s original black-and-white sketches, and a few additional activities.
Original and necessary.
