My Own Way: Celebrating Gender Freedom for Kids

Estrela’s simple rhyming text reminds readers that “everyone has their own way” when considering personal identity, indicating that the most significant part of oneself is not appearance-based at all: “Boy or girl? None or both?// It’s your heart that matters most.” Snappy lines in an all-capitalized font bookend dynamic images of characters with mostly surreal skin colors partaking in everyday activities against textured monochrome backgrounds: eating ice cream, playing soccer, and more, all rendered in wax crayon and digitally in an eye-catching, contemporary art–reminiscent palette. “You can see the different faces,// but the rest is theirs to say,” one spread reads, portraying a grid of stamp-like faces with minimalist features and doodle-like hairstyles. Though the book largely uses binary pronouns when referencing individual figures, it’s a broadly encouraging guide to considering gender identity. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)