Reviews

A Kids Book About Diversity by Charnaie Gordon

librarydreams's review

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

 A Kids Book About consistently puts out the best books on the market about tough and abstract topics, and this one is no exception. The use of basic typography and colors to convey mood and meaning work better than pictures ever could. My only minor criticism about this title is that it seems to be written for kids in dominant groups. (Granted kids in dominant groups probably need more education about diversity.) Still, I think the book works for any kid.

debz57a52's review

4.0

This is not my favorite installment of the Kids Book About... series, but it's good.  The author opens by challenging the reader to think about superheroes and what they look like, then points out that most of them check the same boxes: white, male, cisgender, and able-bodied.  The author makes it clear that those heroes are not bad, and being any of those things (or all of those things) is also not bad.  However, Gordon asks the reader to think about how nice people who are not white, male, cisgender, and able-bodied might feel to see superheroes that reflect their identity too (not instead).  Gordon goes on to explain how much richer and kinder our lives can be if we welcome and embrace diversity by learning and asking questions and making friends with people who are different than us.  My main complaint about this book is not the wording or the sentiment but the design - the little triangles gradually increase across each two-page spread to make the pages look like a kaleidoscope, but the last few pages are a little busy with all the shapes and colors and felt a little distracting from the big message the book had been building up to.  I wish the final pages were a little less cluttered to make the words punch a bit more.