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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Not He or She, I'm Me
Author: A.M. Wild Illustrator: Kah Yangni
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: PK-2 Genre/Type of Book: Realistic Fiction/Picture Book
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Nonbinary main character
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Stonewall Honor Book and looking for more LGBTQIA+ representation
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
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Review:
"Morning is here. Sun shining bright. Not he or she, I'm me. Choosing my clothes, dots, stripes, or stars, not her, not him, I'm them." The poetic day in the life of our non-binary main character is bright and colorful, with joy leaping off the page. We are reminded of "not he or she, I'm me" or "not her, not him, I'm them" in a gentle refrain throughout. The illustrations are a delightful mix of multiple modalities that bring a lot of texture to each page. Colorful linework drawings on top of comic book-esque dot backgrounds meet with watercolors and painted overlays and decoupage spreads that tie everything together. It is a jumble of love and happiness and the general mundane of a kid's everyday perspective.
I enjoyed the simple joy of a character having a nice day, waking up, playing with their friends, and asserting that they are who they are, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It is an expression of gender euphoria and non-binary joy that is very nice to see for this age, when so much LGBTQIA+ content is targeted as being inappropriate. The color palettes in the illustrations develop as the day goes on to match the mood and time of day, which would be interesting in an art lesson. The multi-modal illustrations would also support that, since there are so many layers involved in making one single picture.
This would also be lovely for just sharing about pronouns and respecting others' identities, and to have out during pride month. The story may be simple, but the pride that radiates throughout is evident.
Number of party hats:
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For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website
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