You Be You! The Kid’s Guide to Gender, Sexuality, and Family

This candid, informative handbook begins with two children, one holding a pink cutout wearing a skirt, the other child holding a blue cutout in trousers. “Maybe you’ve heard that all boys should like the color blue and play sports and wear pants. And that only girls should like pink and play with dolls and wear dresses.” Readers should feel free to toss aside these stereotypes, the volume asserts. Writing in warm, assuring prose, Branfman explores the topics of gender, sex (two friendly nude figures demonstrate the difference between anatomy and gender expression), and gender identity, defining terminology such as cisgender, genderqueer, and transgender. Additional chapters focus on attraction and love, having children, facing discrimination, privilege, intersectionality, and “being an ally.” Branfman urges readers to think about identity as ever-evolving, while Benbassat’s comics-style depictions of variously diverse families embody the spirit of free expression and individuality. Ages 5–10. [em](July) [/em]