Book Bundles: LGBTQ+ Pride

(3) K-3 Open-ended questions encourage readers to consider our assumptions about gender. "Who made these rules? Do we need to follow them? What happens if we don't want to?" An opening double-page spread of labeled images--e.g., "blue things," "pink things," "ballet," "building blocks"--gets the conversation started, asking "Are some for girls? Are some for boys? Are some for everyone?" Gravel's friendly cartoon drawings welcome all readers to a thoughtful discussion of gendered language, identity, laws, and unspoken rules that try to proscribe what men and women can and can't do. A handful of gender pioneers are introduced, including the first male U.S. Army nurse; a Zuni Mexican two-spirit person; and girls' rights advocate, Malala Yousafzai. A list of related websites is included on the copyright pages; "Fun facts about gender and clothing" concludes the book.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nidhi Chanani. In a conversational third-person text, "professional strongman" Kearney shares his path from strong kid who excelled at strength-based sports (football, cheerleading, weightlifting) to adult strongman champion. But this story's true focus is about embracing who you are and celebrating self-expression. Before he was "the first and only openly gay strongman in the world," Kearney kept his "bright, bold" style private. When he falls in love with fellow weightlifter Joey, he's emboldened to forego lifters' typical "boring colors" and instead sports colorful clothes and a rainbow Mohawk. Chanani's cheerful illustrations help reinforce Kearney's message, summed up in his author's note: "There is nothing that shows more strength than being who you truly are." More information about the Strongman competition is appended, as is a list of related websites and books.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Cheryl Thuesday. From Chinese ruler Ai of Han to gun-safety activist X González, this browsable volume is intended to encourage curiosity about and further research on fourteen LBGTQ+ activists, poets, politicians, artists, and thinkers from around the world and throughout history. By eschewing specific gender and sexuality labels in her text, Prager focuses on each subject as a human rather than as representative of any particular group. The page design is lively and inviting; each colorful double-page entry features a stylized portrait on the left-hand page and very brief biographical information on the right. Included are birth and death (if applicable) location(s) and date(s), a descriptive and inspirational statement ("You can be RESILIENT like Josephine [Baker]"), a one- or two-sentence paragraph with general information, and a quotation. Website resources are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn