Pride Puppy!

This rhyming abecedarian follows a family of four—one light brown–skinned, tattooed parent with an undercut, another parent with darker brown skin and purple curls, and two children: one with lavender hair, and a curly-haired baby—who attend a Pride parade with their pup in tow. When the dog gets loose, parade-goers pitch in to recover the rambunctious canine. Stevenson’s bouncy rhymes detail the Pride celebrations while neatly propelling the story forward: “M for missing! We search high and low./ N for nearly... and next time... and NO!” McLaughlin contributes vibrant, rainbow-splashed illustrations, done in graphite and finished digitally, which show attendees of varying abilities, skin tones, genders, partner pairings, and more. This engaging introduction to Pride parades for the youngest readers successfully testifies to the warmth and power of queer community. Back matter features a search-and-find word list. Ages 3–5. [em](May) [/em]