They, She, He Easy as ABC

A follow up to Pura Belpré Honor Award winner Maya Gonzalez and Matthew Smith-Gonzalez’ 2017 They She He Me: Free to Be!, a joyous celebration of pronouns and identities. Gonzalez’ dazzling illustrations also populate this work as we meet an alphabet of friends who dance their way from A to Ze. “Ari loves to arabesque. They hold their pose with ease,” it begins. Each new letter introduces us to another child with a different dance and pronouns. Most are children of color, which feels needed and refreshing in a literary world that’s usually mostly White. It ends with an invitation to the reader to “Join the dance. There’s always room.”