This picture book by hip-hop group the Alphabet Rockers, based on a song from one of their Grammy-nominated albums, reminds kids that they always belong and encourages them to celebrate themselves, support each other across differences, and speak out against injustice.
Images throughout the book include Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, transgender, and nonbinary iconography. One character is nonbinary.
The book covers a lot of ground—self-love, allyship, looking beyond the surface, listening to others, sharing our own stories, the importance of community, and addressing injustice—but also shows how all of them tie together and impact children’s well being and sense of themselves. It manages to do so, however, without getting bogged down in definitions or explanations, instead simply letting each character’s personal story connect with readers on an emotional level. The book is like a warm hug of support and validation, but also a nudge for us all to do more to listen to and uplift each other. The lessons here are among the most important we can teach our children.
(Also see my review of the intergenerational music album on which this is based, full of songs on gender, race, allyship, social justice, and more (including one about trans, gender non-conforming, and two-spirit heroes!)
