PAYDEN'S PRONOUN PARTY

With a little help from friends, a child experiences the joy and possibility of choosing pronouns.

Payden, a tan-skinned kid with shaggy, dark hair, loves to play dress-up and “become anyone he imagined…But Payden also puzzled about who he really was.” Uncertain about his gender identity, the intrepid gender explorer embarks on a journey around his community, asking friends about their relationship to their own chosen pronouns. The town vet, Hank, who is light-skinned, has always used he/him, while Shay, a brown-skinned artist who enjoys painting from a swinging trapeze, says, “People used to think I was a boy, but I’ve always been a girl. Now when I hear she, I’m flying.” Other friends offer their perspectives on gender-neutral pronouns like they/them; Zoe, a tan-skinned child Payden encounters in dance class, uses she/her and ze/zir. Much like trying on different outfits to find the best fit, Payden experiments with a range of pronouns before choosing the gender-neutral e/em/eir. To celebrate eir exciting selection, Payden’s supportive parents throw em a pronoun party—complete with dress-up, pronoun badges, and Payden’s friends, all depicted in Cornejo’s exuberant, manga-esque illustrations. Though the flow of this expository tale can feel a little hectic, Jaryn’s demonstration of Payden’s process (as well as eir attentive parents, who model helpful responses to a child curious about trying new gender pronouns) may be useful to young readers and their families alike. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Gender exploration’s a blast in this story about finding your “just right” pronouns.