cover image Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They! What Are Your Pronouns Today?

Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They! What Are Your Pronouns Today?

Lindz Amer, illus. by Kip Alizadeh. Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-66593-114-4

Defining gender as “that tingly feeling inside that tells you who you are and how you want to express yourself to the world,” Amer next runs through pronouns (he, she, they, ze, hir, fae, and per), noting that “you can choose your own pronouns. Use whichever feels right to you.” Broadly discussing gender, conversational text suggests how wondrous it feels when “your right pronouns” are used (like “a favorite sweater” or “a warm hug”), and asks readers what pronouns they use (“Do they and them feel like you can jump so high, you can say ‘hello’ to the moon and the stars?”), while noting that it’s also okay not to know yet. Thick brushstrokes of color give movement to Alizadeh’s pencil and watercolor- and pastel-texture-infused digital artwork, whose joyful depictions of individuals, including the book’s creators, include characters of various skin tones feeling at home in the world. Creators’ notes conclude. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)