The GayBCs

“A is for ally,” begins this abecedarian introduction to LGBTQ terms. With each letter, rhyming lines define various words, some more specific to the topic than others: “F is for FAMILY./ Related or found,/ they’ll stick by your side through your ups and your downs”; “Q is for QUEER./ An inclusive term./ It’s used to show pride,/ unite and affirm!” As large letters loom in the background, four children, two white and two darker-skinned, play and carry on various everyday activities in friendly vignettes that are sometimes disconnected from the terms they illustrate. Some definitions are less succesful than others—“intersex” (“Some are born with the parts/ of both a boy and girl”), for example—limiting the usability of this picture book. Ages 4–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]Correction: An earlier version of this review indicated that the volume is a board book; it is a picture book.