Nonfiction Review: They She He Me: Free to Be! by Maya and Matthew Gonzalez

They She He Me: Free to Be! written and illustrated by Maya and Matthew Gonzalez

From the publisher: Pronouns sere as a familiar starting point for kids and grown-ups to expand ideas about gender and celebrate personal expression with fun imagery that provides a place to meet and play. 

I don’t normally read other reviews prior to writing my own, but I happened to read some for this book and I want to address something I saw in a couple of them. And that is the idea that this book must be read with a parent to help children understand it. I call b.s. on that idea. It can absolutely be used as a conversation starter between parent and child (or educator and child) and since many young children cannot read on their own it may be a shared reading experience. But, the idea that kids need an adult to explain the idea of gender and especially a non-binary idea of gender to them is very, very gender normative and promotes cisgender as both normal and dominant. I think most children understand that male and female and the roles “traditionally” assigned to those labels are very limiting and frequently inadequate in expressing how they feel about gender. I certainly remember the feeling of “not being a good girl” because I liked to run around with the boys and because I wasn’t into pink or princesses, while still having close girl friends and loving My Little Ponys and identifying at cisgender female. Kids understand that a gender binary is too limiting, even if they identify as cisgender and this book gives them validation that they are right about that and also gives them the language they can use to express that.

Okay, with that out of the way, this is wonderful little book to have on your shelves. It’s very simple in it’s execution, which actually makes it work well as a picture book and an easy reader. Just a quick note, “they”, “she”, “he”, “me”, “we”, “to” and “be” are all sight words (words kids need to memorize on sight instead of sounding out each and every time they encounter them in a text). Very young kids will enjoy reading through this and looking at the people and even older children will be captivated by the ideas shown here (my seven year old still likes to read this one).

Maya’s illustrations are always so charming. Happy people and children with flushed cheeks, she presents a mix of skin colors, clothing, ability, and hair. Babies and toddlers, who love faces, will enjoy looking at the pictures, while young kids will enjoy the added experience of seeing the pronouns the people identify with below them. If you can read this to babies and toddlers all the better, as it will counteract some (but by no means all) of the societal pressure to conform to narrow ideas of male and female.

This is definitely one to have in your home and on your library shelves. Might you get push back from parents and patrons? Yes. But don’t let that deter you. Kids who don’t conform to the male-female binary deserve and need to see themselves in our books. We also need to give kids the vocabulary to describe gender. Please read my post about soft censoring books for more on the insidious nature of caving to the pressure of possible complaints.

Final note: If you do purchase this book, please post a review of it on Amazon. This will help other folks find the book and know that it’s worth purchasing. If you use any other book services like GoodReads or your local library’s online catalog be sure to post a review there too! And if your local library doesn’t have a copy, request that they purchase one.

Rerun: Wolf & Vampire by Ellie Ann

Wolf & Vampire written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by MJ Erickson

From the publisher: Wolf likes pie, fish, mud, singing to the moon, and most of all her family. On the other hill lives a vampire family, whom she’s taught to fear. One day, silver rain attacks Wolf’s house, and she runs, injured. Wolf meets Vampire, who has also been injured. She must decide if she should help someone she’s afraid of. Can they team up in order to save their families?

This is the third Castor Tales easy reader I got and it was as good as the others. There is both family diversity as well as racial diversity. Wolf is a biracial werewolf. Her father is white (he looks like a hipster werewolf, which made me laugh) and her mother is a woman of color (it’s not stated what she is and it isn’t obvious from the illustrations). Vampire is a girl of color (again it is not specified) who has two dads, one of whom is black.

One day while out and about Wolf’s family is overtaken by a silver storm. They scramble into a cave where they run into their rival, Vampire’s family. Vampire’s family has been chased out of their house by the garlic people. Just try not to laugh at the garlic people when you finally see them. They are hilarious and I think give an otherwise serious story a hit of levity. The story is about how initially the two families distrust each other, but after their concurrent tragedies the two girls bring them together. The werewolf family cleans up the garlic people and the vampire family sweeps up the debris the silver rain left. In the end they have changed their minds about each other and share some tea together.

There were two things that, to me, set this one apart. First, the language seemed a little harder. It still has the great repetition of the others, the list of sight words, and small word count per page. For whatever reason, though, some of the words used seemed just slightly harder. That’s perfect, the series grows with the reader. Second, it will take some background knowledge about vampires and werewolves for kids to understand what exactly is going on in the story. Nothing a little explanation from a parent or teacher couldn’t provide.

This whole series has been incredibly refreshing. Between the diverse casts of characters to the fantasy genre of the books they are really different from the usual early easy reader fare.

Picture Book Review: Dear Queens by Nastashia Roach

Dear Queens written by Nastashia Roach, illustrated by Adua Hernandez

From Goodreads: A rhyming children’s poem book for little girls to uplift and encourage them to be great despite their insecurities. Author Nastashia Roach encourages children everywhere to recognize their own beauty – inside and out.

I’m seeing a trend in picture books. Positive, uplifting books that affirm how beautiful, whole, and worthy kids of color are. Admittedly I’m seeing more of them in the self published/small press market more than from major publishers, but even they’re jumping on the affirmation bandwagon.

I know from raising two white children and having looked back at my own childhood, books that make white kids feel worthy are a dime a dozen. The sheer quantity of books that feature white children points to the value society places on them and on their whiteness. But what about kids of color? Where are their mirrors? Where is the value that society places on them?  (Hint: look at all the news stories of black and brown children being killed by law enforcement or separated from their families at the border.) Quite frankly the publishing industry has some reparations to make to those kids (and other aspects of diversity that are lacking in traditional publishing). I wish that the traditional publishing industry would step up on being inclusive both in terms of what they publish and who they publish, but until then it’s up to small presses and self publishing to fill the gap. Thank goodness for companies like Melanin Origins who sees this need and is stepping up to produce content that is so desperately needed.

Dear Queens is a stand out title in the trend of uplifting books. One of the best aspects of this book is its ability to function either as a picture book or an easy reader. The text is simple and short and rhymed making it easy for new readers to tackle on their own or with a little help. The trim size of the book makes it fit perfectly alongside your Mo Willems’ Piggy and Elephant books. The fact that the text is not repetitive or stilted makes it a good read aloud at bedtime or storytime and it will leave kids feeling all fuzzy and warm inside.

I am in love with the rainbow hues of the illustrations. It’s all cotton candy, sunshine, and frills. Not what I would normally go for, but it’s so inviting, especially for the target demographic- little girls. My daughter picked it up just as I set it down out of the package freshly delivered by our mailman. She’s not overly girly in her tastes, either, so it appeals even to girls who don’t normally go for princesses and pink.

As parents, librarians, and teachers we need to recognize that traditional publishing is failing many of our kids. We need to seek out the books that fill the gap and ensure that we have positive, multifaceted, and affirming representation on our shelves. And we need it in our picture books, in our easy readers, in our chapter books, and in our nonfiction sections. Be sure to add this delicious confection of a book to your shelves for those princess girls who aren’t used to seeing themselves there.

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy by the publisher, Melanin Origins, in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase the book here (not affiliate links):

On IndieBound: paperback and hardback

On Amazon as an ebook.

Final note: If you do purchase this book, please post a review of it on Amazon. This will help other folks find the book and know that it’s worth purchasing. If you use any other book services like GoodReads or your local library’s online catalog be sure to post a review there too! And if your local library doesn’t have a copy, request that they purchase one.

Rerun: Petra by Ellie Ann

Petra written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by Courtney Hicks

From the publisher: Petra’s the best archer in the world. They shoot high, they shoot low, and hit whatever they aim for. One day, soldiers come and offer them gold if they’ll do a hard job. Should Petra take it? This book is about using your skills for good, and features a non-gendered protagonist.

This another one of the three Castor Tales that I got and I like it as much as I like Rook. Petra is a talented archer who is approached one day by a group of men who want Petra to shoot a man. They try to justify the murder by saying the man is bad and Petra is a good girl. Petra responds with “I am no girl! I am no boy! I am Petra!” There are two important things going on here. First is the message of standing up to people trying to coerce you into making bad choices. I am not fond of books with a Message or moral, but I think it’s subtle enough here and empowering. That empowerment I think comes from the second thing going on in the story, the fact that Petra both declares that they are only Petra, neither boy nor girl. Petra’s power and strength come from being uniquely Petra. I am not positive, but I hope this story allows children who may be struggling to fit into gender norms a strong character to identify with.

It’s also empowering for children to see that Petra, a fellow child, is brave enough to stand up to adults who want to do something bad. It can be really difficult for children to stand up to older children and adults in order to follow their moral compass. So often we teach them to submit to authority without question. Petra gives kids a good example of someone being true to themselves and not being afraid to speak up and reject the authority figures.

Petra is then approached by another set of people who want help. At first Petra is frustrated thinking they want another murder, but it turns out they need help healing the sick moon. Petra is glad to help with that task and saves the day.

The art is very different from Rook. It’s a lot wispier and softer with a celestial feel that suits Petra’s ultimate task of helping the moon. It also gives the clothing and hair a lot of movement and makes the faces expressive. As with Rook, Petra is very simple and would be a great addition to classrooms and libraries with emerging readers. These books are not first readers, but they’re close. Nearly all the words are either simple to sound out or come from a list of first sight words.  They range from 5-20 words per page and when that count is on the upper end of the range most of the words are repeated. For example: “I shoot the sea. I can even shoot the moon! Boom! But I do not. I do not want to hurt the moon.” So just to be clear readers will have to know or be ready for some simple sight words plus have some skills to sound out a word or two.

Rerun: Rook by Ellie Ann

Rook written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by Brittany Ngo

From the publisher: Rook is about a cunning young thief who takes whatever she wants. But one day, she steals from the wrong witch and she’s caught! The witch takes her in, and teaches her how to create, not take.

Rook came as one of three in a set of easy readers from Castor Tales. I got them through a Kickstarter campaign. The purpose was to put out easy reader fantasies with diverse characters. Last year when I went through our easy reader collection (you can see the stats here) I was unsurprised to discover it was very homogenous and focused almost entirely on talking animals and/or realistic fiction. Now, I’m sure there are plenty of kids who love those kinds of stories, but if we’re trying to get kids interested in reading we need to be sure we can serve all kids, including those that like nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. I think this is especially true for roping in reluctant readers.

When I set out to improve the collection, I struggled to find high quality easy readers that featured diversity in their genres and characters. It often worked out that I could get one or the other but rarely both. I gave to the Kickstarter campaign because I saw first hand the lack of variety and diversity and realized there is a need for books like these.

Rook was a lot of fun. She’s a thief with a pet corvid and, in the beginning of the story, we see her stealing from a variety of people. Then she steals from a witch, oh poo. But instead of a cruel witch, she wants to help Rook change her ways. While you could focus on the theme of making better choices or even friendship, I saw an opening for a discussion around society’s current obsession with consumption. Rook begins by proudly announcing she is a thief who always takes. But with the support of a friend, someone who wants to accept her, she is able to shift to creating. Not to sound like the grumpy old man shouting about getting off the lawn, but kids do a lot of consuming, particularly of online content. I think it’s healthy for us to have conversations with them about not only consuming, but also creating their own content to put out into the world.

Other great features of the book are bright and lively illustrations. They feel like they come right out of an animated series. I especially adore Rook herself. She’s got jewelry, henna or tattoos, a partially shaved head and dirt smudges. I appreciate when characters in picture books don’t conform to some clean, White ideal of what people should look like. Showing girls that they can be strong and beautiful no matter how they choose to look (or are born looking) is an incredibly powerful and important message we need to send.

The book also features a list of the sight words used in the story on the back cover. These are easy readers with some thought put into them. I am tired of books marketed as level one easy readers that have way too many words on a page or really complex spelling patterns. Even a classic like Frog and Toad is not for emerging readers. Rook has a few more difficult words that have more complex spelling patterns in them (“create”), but, by and large, the book uses simple sight words (as seen on the back) and basic, predictable spelling patterns. My own daughter should be able to read it with me in a few months (she recently started reading). Even the harder words are repeated so children will have a chance to see them several times in the course of the story. The text also cleverly repeats which allows them to draw on their memory and shows new readers that, while they are reading the same words again, the meaning has changed.

So, I definitely recommend Rook for classrooms and libraries that serve emerging readers. Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy them just yet. You can visit the website and Kickstarter campaign, but I couldn’t find anything about when or if they would be available outside the campaign which ended last fall. In the meantime I would suggest keeping your eye out for them or contacting the publisher.

Picture Book Review: Carefree, Like Me! by Rashad Malik Davis

Carefree, Like Me! Chapter 1: Root the Brave written and illustrated by Rashad Malik Davis

From Goodreads: What happens when two best friends get bored? They go to another universe of course! Introducing Carefree Like Me, the illustrated tales of a sensitive, heart-on-your-sleeve type kid named Amir, his no-nonsense, rough and tumble best friend Neena, and the grand adventure they find themselves on in a whole ‘nother realm! This will be the first book in a series of 7, each book dedicated to telling a larger story with a focus on a particular hero and a brand new adventure. 

I’m posting a review of this book today because there is currently a Kickstarter campaign running for the second installment in the story. The author/illustrator is really passionate about producing these books and they’re a lot of fun. If you can or would like to donate go here: Carefree, Like Me! Chapter 2

Carefree, Like Me! is a series designed to help encourage emotional intelligence in children. The first book follows two children, Amir and Neena, as they go on an adventure to discover different emotions. While playing one day the two friends run out of ideas for things to do. Amir goes to his father who gives him a magic amulet that takes the two kids to the spirit world.

Once there they meet a creature who asks for help and takes them to the king. The king is terrified and hiding out in his bedroom. He keeps hearing a scratching sound under his bed. The kids find this funny because of the king, who turns out to be a bull named Root, is so large. But they’re also sympathetic. Amir shares some advice his dad has given him when he has been scared: face your fears head on. Together Root, Amir and Neena peer under the bed and discover…well, I won’t spoil the surprise, but it’s not at all what anyone expected.

The book ends on a cliffhanger. Just as the kids begin to celebrate conquering fear and practice bravery, they’re transported off to another place and another adventure. Davis has created a truly enjoyable series with endearing characters. He has bravely written the book in verse and while I personally find rhymed text a little irritating, it works here. It helps pace the book and makes a topic that can feel didactic (social-emotional intelligence education) and preachy (spirituality) feel playful and engaging. The text itself is not super complex and I would probably call this an easy reader as well as a picture book. The size of the book makes it feel more like a picture book, but it could easily be read by an emerging reader. Certainly it isn’t any more difficult than some of the more challenging easy readers available on library shelves.

Davis has not only developed the story line and written the story, he has also illustrated the book. Here his style is cartoonish and exuberant and it really fits the mood of the story. Amir and Neena are drawn as brown-skinned kids. There aren’t many sci-fi/fantasy books featuring non-white characters and yet there are plenty of non-white kids that love to read those stories. How refreshing to see these children reflected in the genre.

Be sure to try and get a copy of the series as it comes out and include it for your fantasy readers and kids who like humorous stories with a little substance.

 

Easy Reader Review: Wolf & Vampire by Ellie Ann

Wolf & Vampire written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by MJ Erickson

From the publisher: Wolf likes pie, fish, mud, singing to the moon, and most of all her family. On the other hill lives a vampire family, whom she’s taught to fear. One day, silver rain attacks Wolf’s house, and she runs, injured. Wolf meets Vampire, who has also been injured. She must decide if she should help someone she’s afraid of. Can they team up in order to save their families?

This is the third Castor Tales easy reader I got and it was as good as the others. There is both family diversity as well as racial diversity. Wolf is a biracial werewolf. Her father is white (he looks like a hipster werewolf, which made me laugh) and her mother is a woman of color (it’s not stated what she is and it isn’t obvious from the illustrations). Vampire is a girl of color (again it is not specified) who has two dads, one of whom is black.

One day while out and about Wolf’s family is overtaken by a silver storm. They scramble into a cave where they run into their rival, Vampire’s family. Vampire’s family has been chased out of their house by the garlic people. Just try not to laugh at the garlic people when you finally see them. They are hilarious and I think give an otherwise serious story a hit of levity. The story is about how initially the two families distrust each other, but after their concurrent tragedies the two girls bring them together. The werewolf family cleans up the garlic people and the vampire family sweeps up the debris the silver rain left. In the end they have changed their minds about each other and share some tea together.

There were two things that, to me, set this one apart. First, the language seemed a little harder. It still has the great repetition of the others, the list of sight words, and small word count per page. For whatever reason, though, some of the words used seemed just slightly harder. That’s perfect, the series grows with the reader. Second, it will take some background knowledge about vampires and werewolves for kids to understand what exactly is going on in the story. Nothing a little explanation from a parent or teacher couldn’t provide.

This whole series has been incredibly refreshing. Between the diverse casts of characters to the fantasy genre of the books they are really different from the usual early easy reader fare.

Easy Reader: Petra by Ellie Ann

Petra written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by Courtney Hicks

From the publisher: Petra’s the best archer in the world. They shoot high, they shoot low, and hit whatever they aim for. One day, soldiers come and offer them gold if they’ll do a hard job. Should Petra take it? This book is about using your skills for good, and features a non-gendered protagonist.

This another one of the three Castor Tales that I got and I like it as much as I like Rook. Petra is a talented archer who is approached one day by a group of men who want Petra to shoot a man. They try to justify the murder by saying the man is bad and Petra is a good girl. Petra responds with “I am no girl! I am no boy! I am Petra!” There are two important things going on here. First is the message of standing up to people trying to coerce you into making bad choices. I am not fond of books with a Message or moral, but I think it’s subtle enough here and empowering. That empowerment I think comes from the second thing going on in the story, the fact that Petra both declares that they are only Petra, neither boy nor girl. Petra’s power and strength come from being uniquely Petra. I am not positive, but I hope this story allows children who may be struggling to fit into gender norms a strong character to identify with.

It’s also empowering for children to see that Petra, a fellow child, is brave enough to stand up to adults who want to do something bad. It can be really difficult for children to stand up to older children and adults in order to follow their moral compass. So often we teach them to submit to authority without question. Petra gives kids a good example of someone being true to themselves and not being afraid to speak up and reject the authority figures.

Petra is then approached by another set of people who want help. At first Petra is frustrated thinking they want another murder, but it turns out they need help healing the sick moon. Petra is glad to help with that task and saves the day.

The art is very different from Rook. It’s a lot wispier and softer with a celestial feel that suits Petra’s ultimate task of helping the moon. It also gives the clothing and hair a lot of movement and makes the faces expressive. As with Rook, Petra is very simple and would be a great addition to classrooms and libraries with emerging readers. These books are not first readers, but they’re close. Nearly all the words are either simple to sound out or come from a list of first sight words.  They range from 5-20 words per page and when that count is on the upper end of the range most of the words are repeated. For example: “I shoot the sea. I can even shoot the moon! Boom! But I do not. I do not want to hurt the moon.” So just to be clear readers will have to know or be ready for some simple sight words plus have some skills to sound out a word or two.

 

Easy Reader: Rook by Ellie Ann

Rook written by Ellie Ann, illustrated by Brittany Ngo

From the publisher: Rook is about a cunning young thief who takes whatever she wants. But one day, she steals from the wrong witch and she’s caught! The witch takes her in, and teaches her how to create, not take.

Rook came as one of three in a set of easy readers from Castor Tales. I got them through a Kickstarter campaign. The purpose was to put out easy reader fantasies with diverse characters. Last year when I went through our easy reader collection (you can see the stats here) I was unsurprised to discover it was very homogenous and focused almost entirely on talking animals and/or realistic fiction. Now, I’m sure there are plenty of kids who love those kinds of stories, but if we’re trying to get kids interested in reading we need to be sure we can serve all kids, including those that like nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. I think this is especially true for roping in reluctant readers.

When I set out to improve the collection, I struggled to find high quality easy readers that featured diversity in their genres and characters. It often worked out that I could get one or the other but rarely both. I gave to the Kickstarter campaign because I saw first hand the lack of variety and diversity and realized there is a need for books like these.

Rook was a lot of fun. She’s a thief with a pet corvid and, in the beginning of the story, we see her stealing from a variety of people. Then she steals from a witch, oh poo. But instead of a cruel witch, she wants to help Rook change her ways. While you could focus on the theme of making better choices or even friendship, I saw an opening for a discussion around society’s current obsession with consumption. Rook begins by proudly announcing she is a thief who always takes. But with the support of a friend, someone who wants to accept her, she is able to shift to creating. Not to sound like the grumpy old man shouting about getting off the lawn, but kids do a lot of consuming, particularly of online content. I think it’s healthy for us to have conversations with them about not only consuming, but also creating their own content to put out into the world.

Other great features of the book are bright and lively illustrations. They feel like they come right out of an animated series. I especially adore Rook herself. She’s got jewelry, henna or tattoos, a partially shaved head and dirt smudges. I appreciate when characters in picture books don’t conform to some clean, White ideal of what people should look like. Showing girls that they can be strong and beautiful no matter how they choose to look (or are born looking) is an incredibly powerful and important message we need to send.

The book also features a list of the sight words used in the story on the back cover. These are easy readers with some thought put into them. I am tired of books marketed as level one easy readers that have way too many words on a page or really complex spelling patterns. Even a classic like Frog and Toad is not for emerging readers. Rook has a few more difficult words that have more complex spelling patterns in them (“create”), but, by and large, the book uses simple sight words (as seen on the back) and basic, predictable spelling patterns. My own daughter should be able to read it with me in a few months (she recently started reading). Even the harder words are repeated so children will have a chance to see them several times in the course of the story. The text also cleverly repeats which allows them to draw on their memory and shows new readers that, while they are reading the same words again, the meaning has changed.

So, I definitely recommend Rook for classrooms and libraries that serve emerging readers. Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy them just yet. You can visit the website and Kickstarter campaign, but I couldn’t find anything about when or if they would be available outside the campaign which ended last fall. In the meantime I would suggest keeping your eye out for them or contacting the publisher.